I'm Not Your Rebound
by Ladyfun
Summary: The story of starting over, granting yourself permission to love again. Lea tries to love Beth, but can Beth regain that part of her soul that was lost and broken? Will Lea help her realize love is indeed worth it...will they take the risk? Set in "Shell Collector"Universe - Punctuated by heavy doses of atypical angst & typical smut. RPF/Glee Lea & Beth and estab. Faberry goodness.
1. Chapter 1

**Story: I Am Not Your Rebound.  
**

**Pairing(s):** RP Lea/ FP Beth Corcoran; Quinn Fabray/Rachel Berry,

**Rating**: M/NC-17 ratings. With some filler crap known as plot.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Glee, Ryan Murphy's characters, motherhood in general. I don't own any of the real actors of Glee or others, either (that would be kind of creepy if I did), specifically: Lea Michele. Demi Lovato. That hot chick from Rent. The hot mess that is Myley Cyrus. The Hippocratic oath. Yellow Jell-O

**A/N: **You asked for it - you got it! See, stalking works! So, In the Shell Collector universe, I decided to pencil a story arc about Beth/Lea, and may even stick to a sequential story this time - miracles can happen. Reviews are love, even the creepy and cowardly anon ones - so please review! Hey, a reviewer gave me this idea in the first place...its appreciated.

**Prequel: The Celluloid Shell, Redeux, and New Beginnings.  
**

He felt like he was just here.

Artie sipped his latte, slowly. Over the billowing mounds of foam, he peered out towards his coffee date, the petite and beautiful brunette, with soulful brown eyes.

Soulful brown eyes that were pleading with him, at the moment.

It was so_ deja vu,_ all over again.

"Do you know how much you remind me of Rachel Berry, in this very moment?"

She laughed, an easy laugh. "I get that a lot. However, since you actually know us both, enlighten me...is it working?"

He sighed. "I wish it was, Lea. But honest to God, it's...not going to happen."

"Why?"

"Have you seen the movie 'Rent'? No, you haven't. Neither did anyone else. Look, its true what they say...the camera adds 10 pounds. What they don't tell you is it adds 15 years..."

"What are you saying, Artie?"

"Don't you dare box me in, munchkin. I love all of you, I do. But I don't think anyone past thirty, which you are now, should be prancing around as a_ high school ingenue_. It's like the sonic sound barrier." He was of course, referring to the iconic role she had originated in "The Shell Collector," the Tony award winning musical he had directed her in a few years back. She had played Rachel Berry in her high school years, to Beth Corcoran's Quinn Fabray.

She had an odd smile.

"I agree, Artie."

Artie did a double take. Most actress were not fond of being informed of their aging state.

Lea continued. "However, audiences _would_ buy me as a college student and the early Broadway years...they do every Thursday night at 9pm eastern standard time, after all."

"When your damn show's not on hiatus, anyway..."He grumbled. "Hate that!" Then it dawned on him, what she was suggesting. "Wait a minute._..Act II_? Are you planning on assassinating Rachel Berry?"

She laughed. "I think she's invulnerable to assassination, or death by any other means, actually." She leaned forward. "No, Rachel's herself...in Act III."

"What happens to Act I?"

"Nothing."

"Well, if you're Rachel Act II, and Rachel's Rachel Act III, who's Rachel Act I?"

"I haven't figured that out, but I know who Baby Q is."

"Enlighten Me."

"Emma Roberts, with contacts."

He paused. "Hmm. Could be. But you don't know if she's even interested."

"She's interested."

"You know this, how?"

"I asked her, when she guested last week." Lea said, matter of factly.

"I see. Who else have you cast?"

"Are you ready? Act II is the comeback of..." She leaned forward, conspiratorially. "..._Beth Corcoran."_

"Okay. Right after the Monkeys fly out of my ass. **Next**. Who is Quinn old?"

"Betty White."

"Interesting..."

She smacked him. "No, douf. Not Betty White, even if she would kick ass. No, _this is where I'm genus_: Old Quinn is played by the REAL old Quinn!"

"_What_?"

"Artie, I saw the tapes of your national victory - the memory lane one? Yes, Rachel is the star, no doubt. But my God, Quinn...she's magnetic. Think - just months prior to that performance, she was not even ambulatory! And then... wow! You can't take your eyes off of her!"

Artie's pride was still a bit sore from that whole era. "Yeah," He acknowledged, tightly.

"C'mon. She's the camera's darling. She is!"

"Yes, she is. She's Quinn Fabray, after all."

Noticing the change in his body language, she changed the subject. "So, let's talk about how you're going to get Beth casted..."

"How do you propose, Lea, to get Beth to sign on to this little project? Its 180 degrees apart from what she's doing now, she has no interest in acting, anymore. You remember that little thing called the Hippocratic oath?"

"She would, if you pledge 10% of the profits to Stacy's House Organizational Fund."

"Well, you've thought this through." He shook his head. "Why her? Why does it have to be her?"

"Did you read her op-ed in the _New England Journal of Medicine?_ No? Of course not. No one in show business reads anything of that magnitude."

"And yet,_ you_ seem to have done so."

"Hmm. Well..."

"Or, was it the by-line?"

"Well, it was so well written, so mature, and she made me believe in reform of the health care system - so that all people would be looked at fairly. People wouldn't be judged, on where they've been...or what their mental abilities are...all people would have access to care, mental health, all of it, regardless of their ability to pay, or..."

"...Or if they're recovering addicts." He interrupted.

Her jaw tensed up. "Or that, yes."

"Look, Lea, I get it. The two of you really bonded during the play, and then she was gone, she quit. She went back to her real doctor life. I know- it wasn't the same for you. And now, you've both suffered loss- profound loss- that's obviously driving you to reconnect. But Lea, wouldn't it be simpler to just call her up and have lunch with her? Renew your friendship?"

Lea gave him a stony look.

"Well, I'm just sayin'...is it really necessary to create an_ entire production_ around a movie that's going to flop, all so you can renew your BFF status with Beth?"

"It won't flop, Artie."

"NO ONE wants to see a bunch of yapping...women yapping...lesbian women yapping..._angry_ lesbian women yapping!"

"That's where you're wrong. Everyone wants to see that! Especially if it's **sexy** angry lesbian women yapping."

"At its core, its kind of boring. Its dull for movies. But I give you this, Ms. L, I does have me a weakness for women, especially if it's sexy angry lesbian women yapping..._sexily._"

"Sexily? Is that even a word?"

"Does it convey what_ I'm feelin'_, dawg?"

Lea visibly shuddered. "Do not_ ever_ utter that phrase again, in your natural lifetime, Artie."

"Hey, I'm the director. I get to be eccentric and nerdy."

"Mmm. It's just that its such a slippery slope down from "eccentric" into the "creepy" and "Norman Bates" purvue, however, Dawg. Besides, _why you hatin'_ on these women? I thought you loved the Shell Collector gals!"

"I_ do_ love them. I loved them when it was actually happening the first time, and I loved the Q Recap. I even love Faberry 3.0. But I'm the minority of the movie going audience."

"Well, Artie, you're a genius. Figure out how to make it_ the majority._ Let's make a movie!"

He sighed. Somehow, he knew, he was going to be swept up in the brand of Lea Crazy that was necessary to get this show on the road. God help them all.

**XOXOXOX**

Artie would call it the "Rachel Berry Phenomenon" later in life...anyone that came close to touching the orb of fire that was Rachel, if you circled her universe, some of her magic would even rub off on you. You might even be able to pull off the occasional Rachel Berry miracle. He watched Lea plot, scheme, cajole, and outright bribe those necessary to get the movie made and cast. Quinn even signed on as long as she didn't have to do frontal nudity. Beth however, was the expected challenge, but oddly Lea never approached her head on.

She was brilliant. She had _Sue_ do it.

It wasn't difficult - the back end promise to Stacy's House was a no-brainer. Artie scripted his envisioned the coersive conversation between the former coach and her former non-HBIC to resemble something like this:

_Sue: Beth. It's Sylvester._

_Beth: I know. I have caller ID. Also, you're on my speed dial. And, I talk to you, like, every day._

_Sue: (disregarding Beth's rant) So, that amped up fake Rachel Hollyweird ferret who bugs me in a manner very analogous to the actual real Rachel Berry ferret called me for the fifteenth time, yesterday._

_Beth: (laughing). Lea? Is this about that movie thing?_

_Sue: They made an offer we can't refuse._

_Beth: Sue, I'm a little busy these days._

_Sue: (Silent)_

_Beth: Sue, if you haven't heard, I'm a resident. I'm busy._

_Sue: Beth..._

_Beth: Oh, shit. This isn't going to be one of those things where you ask me to do it for you, and I'm forced into doing it?_

_Sue: No, Beth. This is going to be one of those times where I ask you to do it, for YOU. And then you'll do it._

_Beth: I have a life. It involves saving other lives._

_Sue: Beth, I promise you, People will still be stupid and get sick and still tempt the grim reaper from their own pitiful miserable life's choices, and will be waiting for you when you get back. You'll manage their putrid lives and give them an extra 15 miserable days, weeks, years that they don't deserve, upon your return. Corcoran, they'll still be dying for god's sakes! You, however, could use a sabbatical. Your Chief Resident told me you're going to get the residency program put on probation because you insist on working more than 80 hours a week on a regular basis._

_Beth: I don't clock it. So the AAMC can suck it._

_Sue: Beth- I'm asking. You need a life. Come to Hollyweird and read for this movie._

_Beth: When?_

_Sue: They have a plane for you tomorrow._

_Beth: (groaning) Tomorrow?_

_Sue: Did I stutter?_

_Beth: But...its my call night, and its yellow jello day in the cafeteria! I waited all week for this!_

_Sue: Yellow jello? I have nothing to say to that. Be on the plane, Corcoran. After that yellow jello comment, I'm thinking, its** imperative.**_

_Beth: But..._

_Sue: I am having people come pick you up tomorrow 6am sharp. Do not hide. I will find you. That's how Sue..._

_Beth: "C"'s it. Bah! (disgruntled) Fine! Damn it._

XOXOXOX

Artie was such a magnificent director because he had been such an astute observer of life. He caught the little things no one else did. He watched, he reflected, he observed, and he wasn't afraid to implement his observations into practice, drawing out what no one else noticed.

So, while Lea gave lip service and did the press junket about how she was merely "looking forward to working with Beth again" with her party line of "their commanilities from loss of loved ones" and all the other perfunctory crap in regards to their past, Artie knew better. He saw. He _observed._

This wasn't about commonalities, familiarity, or any of the other pretenses Lea spewed in regards to working with her again.

Dozens of interviews to the contrary, this wasn't about _that._ Lea didn't want to work with Beth because of their past similarities mired in tragedy; no... as the days wore on with initial read-troughs and blocking work, he observed the shy glances Lea would cast at Beth; the blush that would come over her face when Beth would tease her; and the inexorable manner in which the two would seem to find each other on every break or bit of down time, or end up next to each other in every group photograph.

Artie_ observed_ a woman who very much did not want to remain trapped in the past...she was a woman who wanted to move forward. Badly.

Early on, he shared his thoughts with Quinn.

"What, so you think she's just using Beth?" Quinn exploded, after hearing Artie's theories about Lea's motives.

"Shhh! Keep your voice down. Can you go back to when you were the edgy, worldy-wise sounding board, producing-partner I used to have, please?"

"_Do you think she's using Beth_, Artie?" Quinn's eyes were burning hot. "Because I refuse to let Beth be hurt -

"Calm down, Tiger Mama! Jesus! Forget it, you can't be objective on this."

Quinn pinched the bridge of her nose, and sighed. "Yes, I can, Artie. I'm sorry. Go ahead."

"Besides, even if she wanted to tap dance on Beth's anal pucker for cheap therapy, what are you going to do, Fabray, go in all renegade? Let me order your Chaps...cause 'This here's Sheriff Fabray, and you're not gonna be molestin' my fine as frog hair daughter!' That's not going to work, Quinn."

"I know. I realize how ridiculous I sounded."

"Besides, I actually don't think Lea has _one iota_ of self-awareness that this is what she's doing."

"Really? Then, why are you so convinced?"

"I mean, well. It's like this...the mind is an amazing organ, Quinn. It will do anything to protect its owner. While I do think that Lea's ready to move on...she can't. She lost a significant other, so tragically and unexpectedly, that wow! Shock. But now, time has passed, and she's ready to go forward with her life. But...that would make her feel so guilty, she couldn't live with herself."

They exchanged knowing looks.

"She's ready to move on, but the world is not ready to see her move on. And perhaps, she's not ready to, because she thinks she shouldn't be okay with this yet."

"So...she's sublimating." Quinn sighed. She knew a thing or two about that from her own first marriage.

"Something like that. She pushes this movie to get made, but she gives herself and Beth Act II. Act II, Quinn, the most intimate part of the story. Don't you see? She wants permission to feel all these things for someone, all of this love, and passion, and desire, but she doesn't want to feel guilty. But she wants those things, badly."

"With Beth, or anyone."

"With Beth, most definitely."

"She doesn't set off my gaydar, not even a little bitty bit, A squared."

He chuckled. "It certainly wouldn't be the first time a brunette _"went gay_" for a Fabray, Quinn."

"Well, what do you, the great and powerful Oz, have to say about Beth, then? Is it a two way street?"

"Good Question. I don't know, she's hard to read. Beth is so closed off nowadays, its hard to find her currency." He said, thoughtfully. After a moment, he looked at his blond producing partner earnestly. "But she reminds me of you, back in the you-and-Rachel-and-Finn-High School Musical Days."

Quinn gave him a quizzical look.

"I mean, like its _deja vu_ again...Beth acts like she's annoyed by all of Lea's ramblings, but she's always_ justrightthere_, next to Lea. I catch her looking at Lea, but it's very controlled. Like she's daring herself to look...or_ something._ Like Lea is her kryptonite."

"Hmm. She sounds just like a Fabray."

"No she's just -_ hurt._ She'll get better."

"Do not deny the Fabray in her!" Quinn said, melodramatically. "It could take weeks."

"Not if," He leaned forward in his most Hitchcockian conspiratorial impression, "you _push the envelope, _my dear Quinn."

"Tip the velvet?"

"Exactly."

**XOXOXOX**

"These rewrites...um, I don't think my agent has seen these..."Lea said, in a high pitched nervous tone.

Beth walked up to the table read with her ubiquitous cup of coffee. "What rewrites?"

"Fer Christs Sakes," Said Demi, the actress cast as Lima Adjacent. "Lea, no one wants to see your trainer-bra boobies. _Please_. Unless they're dispensing magnifying glasses with the tickets. This shit'd have to be on IMAX or something."

_From the sidelines, Quinn whispered, "Uh oh. Should we step in" _

_Artie, shook his head, and put a hand across in front of Quinn to stop her intervention. _

_"Wait. Let this unfold and play out."_

At the holding pen on the soundstage, Lea's blush was unmistakable. "My breasts are _just fine,_ thank you! Just because I don't need to go under the knife to surgically enhance MY talents..."

Demi stepped up and looked down on the smaller brunette. "God, I'm so sick of you! Are you implying I had a boob job, or that I'm untalented?"

Lea raised her eyebrows, defiantly. "Well,_ if the shoe fits._.."

"Let's see this shoe fit up your ass, _biyatch_!" Demi huffed forward, to which Beth cooly stepped between them.

"Don't spill my coffee, please, Lovato." Beth said, calmly.

Demi paused slightly. "_I like you_, Beth, don't get involved. Move. This is between me and the hobbit, here."

Beth looked around. "I don't see any hobbits."

Both women huffed.

"Listen, gals, I think we're all .._.tired." _Beth said, rationally. "We've been working some long hours, here. Catching the tail end of your..um..discussion...I think you are failing to hear each other. So if I may be so bold, as I understand it: Demi, you would like Lea to stop being so loud on set, and sounding like a frenetic hobbit."

"Yes! Exactly."

"Especially when you're a wee hung over."

"Yup."

Beth turned to face Lea. "Lea, you have essentially called Demi an untalented, breast-enhanced individual, yes?"

"I didn't say that, exactly."

Beth shot her a warning look.

"Okay, I _might_ have implied it."

"To which, Demi took umbrage, understandably so. I think we can all agree Demi is very talented, yes?"

Lea grumbled a yes.

"However, Demi, don't protest too much when your shit, stinks,_ ¿lo entiendes?"_

"What are you implying, **Beth?**"

"Really?" Beth raised her eyebrows, taking a sip of her coffee.

"_Really_."

Beth sighed. "Well, Demi, I commend your selection of the trans-axillary augmentation. Smart."

_"Oh shit," Whispered Quinn to Artie. "She's going to go all doctor on her ass."_

The young physician continued. "The incision line is hard to see. However, the potential disadvantage to this approach, and the reason it is opted for only 10-12% of the time, is that proper implant positioning is very difficult, unless performed by a skilled surgeon, using fiberoptics. And to the trained physician's eye, your left implant is placed asymmetric to your right, not following the _Facial Plane_."

"Goddamnit, Corcoran."

"Wow." Lea said in amazement.

"Hey, Einstein. You're so goddamned smart with that Grey's Anatomy shit. Why aren't you in the hospital, saving lives instead of with us making a stupid movie?" Demi bantered.

Beth took another drink before replying. Deliberately, she offered, "Who says I_ didn't_ just save a life, just now?"

Winking at Lea, Beth then put her arm around Demi. "Besides, there aren't any hot, very talented characters like you in the hospital, Demi. Just boring doctors and sick patients."

She gave her an air-kiss on the cheek, and walked off to finish her coffee in peace. Lea stood transfixed, with a strange smile on her face, watching the cheerleader-turned actress-turned football days

"Wow." Quinn exhaled.

"Yeah,_ wow_." Artie agreed. "Have I failed to mention I think Beth cloned straight off of you? Is there _any_ genetic contribution from Puck?"

"Stop diverting. When were you going to tell me about those re-writes, Artie?"

"Never."

"Gratuitous sex? _Really_?"

"Yep. And l_ots and lots_ of it in Act II! Q, We got the green light for an R rating yesterday! Hey, look...I'm helping the cause, sister! We grow the beard, as it were...Lea gets to rap her head around touching another human being again, Beth gets to prove she is an actual human being and not the stepford doctor, and ...hey. Have I mentioned gratuitous sex? That's a stand alone justification in my opinion. "

He grinned, and wheeled away.

**XOXOXOXO**

Artie was wrong. Beth was unquestionably a mix of the best and worst of her genetic parents. There was no doubt she loved women just as much as her biological father, and equally of no doubt was the fact she was as repressed as much as her biological mother, and painfully self unaware. The only reason she appeared sane with those diametrically opposing views was thanks to Shelby and her environmental contribution to her upbringing.

But any tempered response was out the window when it came to Lea.

Lea was her Kryptonite.

There was no doubt in her mind regarding the longing feelings that never quite came to fruition between the two women during the play's first run. She felt inexplicably drawn to the diminutive brunette with the easy smile; and she just seemed to blend in with Beth's extended crazy family.

For one thing, she actually was Italian, in real life.

"You mean you're not Jewish?" Said Bea, indignantly.

"Safarti. I. The terminal Italian vowel. Proof is in the pudding. Or panchetta, as it were." She said.

"Harmpfh!" The young girl stormed off, complete with a foot stomp.

Beth gave Lea a wink and a squeeze. Whispering in a confidential tone, she said to Lea quietly, "Be gentle with Bea, she just learned she's actually NOT Italian. It came as quite a shock to her."

Lea's eyes looked mirthfully at Beth. "Are you sure she's not Italian?" She said, incredulously.

"She's NOT Italian!" Screeched Santana, from across the room.

"Ignore that crazy woman." Papa Muccino said, fondly, cutting peppers. "She's drunk, again."

Santana grabbed a pepper, stomping out with a huff and a pepper in her mouth.

"I wonder where Bea gets it," said Beth, rolling her eyes.

Lea laughed headily, eyes twinkling at Beth. She gave Beth's arm a little squeeze., then rubbed the goosesteps underneath. Beth blushed, but didn't pull away.

This exchange was not lost on Shelby and Quinn, as they shot concerned looks at each other.

It was _on._


	2. Chapter 2: De integro

**Story: I'm Not Your Rebound.**

**Pairing(s):** RP Lea/ FP Beth Corcoran; Quinn Fabray/Rachel Berry,

**Rating**: M/NC-17 ratings. With some filler crap known as plot.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Glee, Ryan Murphy's characters, motherhood in general. I don't own any of the real actors of Glee or others, either (that would be kind of creepy if I did), specifically: Lea Michele. Demi Lovato. That hot chick from Rent. The hot mess that is Myley Cyrus. The Hippocratic oath. Yellow Jell-O. As always not for profit (mine, anyway).

**A/N: **So, I highly recommend reading Shell Collector first, I'm trying to fill in a little to close the gaps if you're just not interested in reading that first, but no promises. You've been warned. Thanks so much, w1cked, cuccino2002, laylarei, et al, for trudging on over to this.

**Chapter: De integro**

Lea quickly stubbed out her cigarette, glancing around to make sure no one saw her. It was a nasty habit, she conceded, but once she hadn't totally been able to quit when she was nervous. And she was nervous. She looked at the stage door and sighed.

Truth be known, despite her Golden Globe nominations, and her Emmy nod and win, the Tonys had yet to acknowledge her. Ironic, since she literally grew up on the great white way! She debuted when she was barely out of pull-ups in 1995, filling in for Young Cosette in "_Les Misérables_" and following that up playing the Little Girl, in the 1998 original Broadway cast member of "_Ragtime_", for Christ sakes! Yet, she hadn't even once been nominated.

And here she was, getting ready to star with one of her idols, Rachel Berry, who currently had the longest losing streak in Tony history-and she was going to play Rachel Berry, for God's Sakes. Talk about pressure.

Lea sighed again.

An unmistakable voice spoke behind her. "Hey, you got another of those death sticks?"

She turned around, slowly, allowing her eyes to comically bug out of her head, like some old warner brothers' cartoon.

"Omigod…omigod. Rachel? Rachel Berry?"

"In the flesh. And still wondering if you have another death stick."

Hand shaking, she extended her secret Parliament pack to the icon. Rachel took it gleefully, and lit one for herself, and for her "younger" self. As they both silently took a drag, Rachel closed her eyes as she exhaled.

"Okay, kid. Here's the rule: you can't tell Quinn we smoked. I love my woman, but there are just some things she doesn't need to know."

"Got it."

"And I won't tell your future Quinn, because, you know, she'll nag the fuck out of you. Beth Corcoran's a health freak, you know. And a bit of a girl scout."

Lea took a long drag, and said, "So I hear."

Rachel sized her up and laughed.

"What?" Asked Lea, defensivly.

"I can sooooo read your mind. It's kind of freaking me out."

"What am I thinking, then?"

"You're thinking, '_how the hell did this chick, who hasn't done any equity work, who's only acting to date has been playing dumb - which she is NOT- as a varsity cheerleader, snag this role? Nepotism, nepotism! I'm going to chew her, and the entire scenery up, around her.'_ I know you, Lea Michele."

Lea flushed. "Am I that obvious?"

"Yep- to me, anyway. And you know what?" Rachel said, as she stubbed out her forbidden vice, "I love you, Lea. I think you're ridiciously talented. But the dark horse in this is going to be Beth. Mark my words. My money's on Beth, to kick all of our asses."

"I'll take that challenge." She said, stubbing out her own vice.

Rachel smiled her million dollar smile, curling her arm into the younger woman's, and leading her into the theatre. Somehow, Rachel Berry had made her feel like she was home, in two minutes flat. It was a gift.

**XOXOXOXOX**

Lea was second to work, behind Rachel. She'd have to get used to that...weird. She usually was the first to arrive on any production.

Strolling in 30 minutes later was the rag-tag team of grouchy Quinn (still not a morning person), Beth Corcoran, and Shelby Corcoran. Not a single one was a morning type, in stark contrast to the perky tandem of the Rachels. Lea and Rachel had already wowed the few early birds with a rousing rendition of "There's No Business Like Show Business" to a mini standing-O; grouchy Quinn, hearing the tail end of the duet as she headed towards the stage, simply shook her head but vaguely smiled. Quinn was talking to herself.

Rachel, seeing Grouchy Quinn's unkempt hair and generally unawake self make its perfunctory morning appearance, let out a boisterous laugh. That sound was infectious, and Lea couldn't help but to turn her head towards the source of whatever made Rachel laugh so genuinely, with a residual smile that was so deeply etched in her face. Lea saw Quinn, and faintly smiled. It would be easy to focus on the dynamics of Quinn and Rachel, because _really._ They were just smoking blue hot.

However, as though by a secret magnetic force, her eyes were pulled elsewhere. Lea's eye couldn't help but to gaze immediately at the silent, and very serious, young woman _behind_ Rachel's raisin d'être. The accomplished young actress's eyes became very focused, as they raked up and down the 5'9" frame of Quinn's eldest child.

Lea's mouth went dry.

She had no idea how long she'd been staring, when she finally captured a rather disinterested glance from Beth cast her way. Beth fixed her intense gaze on her for no more than a fraction of a second, but that was enough to make the world stop spinning on its axis. Lea was pretty sure she had one of those random palpating heart abnormality thing-a-ma-jigs that you read about, that could have the propensity to drop you dead on the spot...sudden cardiac arrest! The butterflys in her stomach at Beth's immanent approach were outweighed by the thoughts of, _Do I have an aspirin in my purse to chew if this is indeed a myocardial infarction? _

Her heart sped up as she watched the angel peel off and head straight for her. She fixed a rather intense look on her, and extended her hand. "Hi," She said, cool as a cucumber. "I'm Beth Corcoran." She extended her hand, which Lea took.

Lea felt herself shiver.

Beth continued in her low voice. "I figure if I'm going to be sticking my tongue down your throat consistently for the next seven nights a week, and twice on Sunday, I should _at least_ say hi."

"_Welllllll_... So then, _um_, I'm Lea."

_I forgot what I say next. **What** do I say next?_ She heard a voice that seemed really far away say, "It's nice to meet you, finally... It is ..._um,_ 'Beth', right?"

_ Apparently, I have 'a type' when it comes to ...women. _ Lea thought, to herself. She was genuinely surprised it had taken her this long to pin it down.

"Yes, Lea." She said, amused. "It is Beth. Yo-hoo, Lea? Spoiler alert ... my eyes are _up here_."

Lea blanched. _OMG, she had been caught gawking at her tits! Lea, fix this. Fix this. **Fix** this. Unfuck this, Lea, because you sound like a pig! A huge, fat, pig!_

"_Correct._ Your eyes are indeed, er... 'up there', just like you said."

_Smooth Lea! God. That was not AT ALL awkward. Maybe amnesia will hit her tonight. z_

"Okay, I'm gonna, um, go to my first blocking sessions, now, before I make a worse mess of this. Aaaargh! Can we agree that you'll just, oh, I don't know...forget about this little haphazard beginning?"

_"Hmmm,_" She made a mock consideration, with a finger on her "thinking chin" like Quinn had done many times when thinking about a difficult issue. ultimately decreeing, "I think the chances of that are in the range of Probably never to probally ever._ It's hilarious. _You're kinda cute when you're so flummoxed."

Lea just watched her walk away, dazed.


	3. The Slushee Attack

**Story: I Am Not Your Rebound.  
**

**Pairing(s):** RP Lea/ FP Beth Corcoran; Quinn Fabray/Rachel Berry,

**Rating**: M/NC-17 ratings. With some filler crap known as plot.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Glee, Ryan Murphy's characters, motherhood in general. I don't own any of the real actors of Glee or others, either (that would be kind of creepy if I did), specifically: Lea Michele. Demi Lovato. That hot chick from Rent. The hot mess that is Myley Cyrus. The Hippocratic oath. Yellow Jell-O

**A/N: **You asked for it - you got it! See, stalking works! So, In the Shell Collector universe, I decided to pencil a story arc about Beth/Lea, and may even stick to a sequential story this time - miracles can happen. Reviews are love, even the creepy and cowardly anon ones - so please review! Hey, a reviewer gave me this idea in the first place...its appreciated.

**Chapter: The Slushee Attack**

Beth wasn't horrible.

Beth wasn't great, either. She wasn't the best, she wasn't the worst. In the words of Lea, she was, well, _"Meh."_

She really couldn't be blamed. She was thrown into a cast that had some brilliant performers, and the rush-rush frenetic energy of revamping the show from it's original format, a play, to its present evolution, a musical, in breakneck speed was horrifying. Even a seasoned performer couldn't be expected to excel under these conditions, Lea reasoned. Despite her average-ness, Lea couldn't deny Beth was impossible_ not_ to watch. She was, at times, incandescent with her beauty. That aspect of Quinn certainly came across in Beth.

What was disturbing- and amazing- at the same time was just how untouched she was by her own beauty.

"Psst." A raven haired beauty whispered to Lea, from behind.

"Oh!" Startled Lea. "Oh! Hi, Shelby." A genuine smile came across her face.

"Watching my daughter?"

"How can you_ not_?"

Shelby smiled. "She is beautiful." She said, evenly. The older woman couldn't help notice the faint blush that crept over Lea's face.

"Yes, she is." Lea said, quietly.

Shelby sighed. "But…she's kind of_ sucking,_ isn't she?"

"N-no," stammered Lea. "Her singing is actually quite wonderful."

Shelby chuckled. "But …uninspired."

Lea paused. "Perhaps. You know her better than I."

"I do. That's know I know she's not feeling it."

"What excites her?"

"Not Broadway, that's for damn sure."

Lea's eyes widened, at the heresy of the statement. "Really?"

"Really. She's actually kind of a science nerd, despite her Cheerios status and her homecoming queen tiaras. She did this as a favor, to all of us."

"All of whom?"

"The Rachel Berry Mafia."

Lea grinned. "The famous Knights of the Round Table? I imagine its hard to turn down a request from you all."

Shelby laughed, and she looked exactly like a taller, more angular Rachel in that moment. "Yes, I believe she was forced to kiss the ring."

They watched Beth trudge through her song, dutifully.

"Well, she's certainly can be a pain in the ass, like Quinn was. Perhaps you could talk to her, Lea. Figure it out."

"Me? _What?_ Um, well, I … I barely know the girl. Both her moms are here, and her…um, her Rachel, her Rachel is here, as are her friends, aunts, uncles, godparents…_geez._ What can I possible offer or add?"

"You can offer NOT being _us_. A fresh set of eyes. Someone independent. And, from what I saw at Walgreens, this am, you can offer a lot of Revlon makeup, apparently."

Lea laughed.

"I'll try, but, well...as you know, Shelby, she's kind of a tough nut to crack."

"That's the Fabray in her. You can do it, though."

The skeptical part of Lea revealed itsealf. "I'm not so sure..."

Shelby grabbed her chin suddenly, forcing her to look up at her intense stare. Shelby wasn't smiling in this moment, not really. It was kind of intimidating.

"You _can_, Lea. You know why? I've been watching you. You're more Rachel Berry than you know. That ingredient is that is the _one thing_ that can break a Fabray."

Lea let out a tiny squeak.

Shelby patted the smaller girl on the cheek before swooping in for a hug. "Good luck. I enjoyed our talk."

XOXOXOX

Someone dropped something stage right, and Artie was on a rant. The breakneck speed of the schedule- death defying, really, meant thempers were getting short. There always seemed to be a lot of hanging around while someone had to have what was going on explained to them.

It was during one of those mini hiatuses that Beth felt like someone was staring at her. She turned around. Startled brown eyes quickly averted away. Lea looked up to a laughing Beth. "Take a picture, it'll last longer, Safarti."

Lea wadded up her empty expresso cup and pelted it at Beth.n Unlike the real Rachel as a teen,_ Lea_ did not suck ass at every playground sport. So when she felt the object richocet off her head, SAntanIt richocheted off her head, making a loud thumping noise.

"What th-?" Beth said, startled.

Lea's eyes got michevious, and Beth rose to the challenge. Searching around, she saw the Slushee prop and her eyes got big. Smiling, she dashed over to pick it up.

"Ak! No way, Fabray, you wouldn't dare!"

"Try me, Berrylicious!"

Lea turned down the hall, sprinting at top speed, with Beth in hot pursuit.

"Damn, your fast, for someone so short!"

"Evil slows you down!" Lea shouted, as she dodged Artie, and Quinn.

"What the hell? Do not stain that costume!" Artie shouted to the oblivious giggling girls running out towards the backlot.

Too late. They were out of earshot.

"Boy, that was a blast from the past." Artie said to Quinn.

Adult Quinn immediately bristled. "I never personally slusheed Rachel. And I certainally wouldn't run after her with one."

"No, you just had all your lackeys do it."

Artie dropped it immediately when he saw the truly pained expression fall across Quinn's face. She had gone somewhere else…somewhere dark.

"Q?" He said nervously.

Shaking out of it, she said, "Asquared- I'm so sorry if I was an ass. Well, actually, I was an ass. I'm sorry."

He took her hand, gently. "I know, Q." He looked at her broken expression, still, after all these years. "Hey Q… want a ride?"

"I thought you'd never ask!" She smiled, as she climed on Artie's lap. As he wheeled down the hall, he said, "You know, you're one of my best friends, now, Q. I can't imagine my life without you in it." He said, sincerely.

"Word."

"Q, I have it on good authority, that that phrase should never be uttered, ever."

"Oh, okay."

_"Word_." He replied as they high-fived each other and he wheeled them down the hall, laughing.

XOXOXOX

Beth had Lea pinned down, straddling her, cup over head.

The footrace was shortlived. ALea quickly realized Beth was the real deal, an excellent and in-shape athlete, who was freakishly strong despite being so thin. It took no time for Beth to catch up to her, and pin her down.

Lea's breath caught she felt Beth use her pelvis to slide across their midsection. and then, using her weight to bear down, to keep Lea pinned underneath her. And, fuck, Beth pinned her arms above her head. It was kinda...forceful.

Plus , that unual glint in Beth's eyes, as she stared down at the woman pinned beneath her...got Lea's mind drifting to all kinds of Badness happening. Lea sighed. But she couldn't deny the fact she was ... turned on. Holy fuck, she was sooooo turned on by this side of Beth. Aggressive. Go-Get-Her. Lea wasn't protesting her treatment, no; she was just a bit_ surprised_ at her reaction to it.

To Beth.

Beth, for her part, looked down at Lea, uncertain, a bit skittish. She wavered for just a split second, then said, "I'm sure you noticed**, how** easily I captured you...and forced you to submit to my will, underneath me.._.but"_ She added.

Lea's eyes got big as she watched the trajectory of Beth's right arm, and the Cherry Red drink was revealed . She gasped.

_This is now is the point where this ceases to amaze me and just gets like, gross!_ Lea's through raced. . _ Stop! Quinn had a slushee in her hand! And she looked ready to use it! Gross!  
_

"Uh-huh. Thought you could pull a fast one, huh? No, this will NOT be a "fast one." This will likely b a slow one. just a likely slide into adenocarcinoma, for your mom, Miss Diva. And you'll_ never_ outrun me, gorgeous. So don't try." Beth said. Lea felt her hips, her core, involuntarily thrust up against Bethm trying to find her. She silently cursed her desperate hips , for being so desperate...and then gazedd up up, thinking. Eventually she croaked out a weak "Rematch?"

Beth chuckled. "We'll see."

They heard Lea's name called for places.

"So, I have to_** let** _you go now, do I?" She purred into the ear of Lea, who was now losing her mind.

The second call was gasping. "I, um, yes. I have to go, Beth."

They looked at each other. The moment was heavy. In the end, Beth was responsible and rolled off of Lea. She watched Lea run to her episoned. off to her "place."

Beth watched her until she was out of sight, eyes glued to her ass. . Then, she ghosted her fingerprints across her lips, planning her dinner.

_I'm fucked, s_he finally realized.

TBD


	4. A Star Is Born

**Story: I Am Not Your Rebound.  
**

**Pairing(s):** RP Lea/ FP Beth Corcoran; Quinn Fabray/Rachel Berry,

**Rating**: M/NC-17 ratings. With some filler crap known as plot.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Glee, Ryan Murphy's characters, motherhood in general. I don't own any of the real actors of Glee or others, either (that would be kind of creepy if I did), specifically: Lea Michele. Demi Lovato. That hot chick from Rent. The hot mess that is Myley Cyrus. The Hippocratic oath. Yellow Jell-O

**A/N: **You asked for it - you got it! See, stalking works! So, In the Shell Collector universe, I decided to pencil a story arc about Beth/Lea, and may even stick to a sequential story this time - miracles can happen.

**Chapter: A Star Is Born**

The day Beth went from a "passable" performance to one that was truly outstanding on any likert scale, could be traced to one sentinel moment. Rachel, long distance, talked Beth's best friend, Stacy, through a wash up of a slushee shower back at McKinley. As Beth listened on, she realized what Rachel had gone through, to be such a seasoned veteran of the clean up. She then realized the culpability that her birth mother, Quinn, had in making life miserable for Rachel.

The fact that her mother could be responsible for something as awful and degrading as what Stacy just went through on a daily basis enraged Beth. Not much upset the zen blonde, but she was definitely upset. She spluttered her indignation to Rachel.

Rachel raised her eyebrows. "You mean to tell me, Beth Corcoran, 4 year Cheerio letter winner, that you never threw a Slushee? In your entire high school cheering career?"

"_Not one_."

"Wait- really?"

"Really. Believe it. It's just…**mean**."

Rachel was speechless.

Beth continued. "Yep. No Slushees. I believed, at first, its why I was passed over for Captain. You know, the title of the ol' HBIC that my mom.." Beth said, rather bitingly, "so easy won. Coach said, at the time, that I didn't have what it took- she said I wasn't mean enough, to be HBIC."

"You said, 'at the time'? What does that mean?"

Beth laughed. "At graduation, Coach took me out to dinner, just the two of us. We talked a lot that night. She said I would have been the absolute best captain she ever had- because she believed people would have followed me, "to their death" , you know Sue's dramatic style... because they respected me, and not out of fear. She said she wanted – badly – to give me the title my sophomore year, just like she had my mother, LQF."

"But she didn't."

"No, she didn't. She didn't, because she didn't want me to have to deal with the pressures of the comparison to the great Lucy Quinn Fabray. And tithing me, she felt, would have invited that very comparison. So, instead, she gave it to a girl a year older, and she was fine. The squad did great that year."

"Was she right?"

"Sue generally is. You know, I'll never know. I do know that I had a lot of fun in Cheerios, and I made a lot of good friends –sort of. It was nice to know that Sue had a method to her madness, and it wasn't just cause I wasn't a bitch. I really did have fun cheering - I get the impression my experience was very different than my mothers'."

"It most certainly was. Oh my God, Beth, she hated being a Cheerio."

"Interesting." After a moment, Beth spoke again. "Okay, I can't hold it in anymore." Beth was shaking, now. "Rachel, how could you forgive her? How could you love such a horrible person, who Slusheed you, and humiliated you?"

"Stop right there, Beth Elizabeth Corcoran! You will never talk about Quinn that way to me again!"

_"But-"_

"But, nothing. You will not disrespect her, in my presence, again. Understood?"

"Why, Rachel? Yes, I won't, _Bu_t-"

Rachel put up her hand. "But **nothing**! Beth, you grew up loved. You grew up wanted. If you succeed, if you fail – it's irrelevant. Shelby loves you irregardless. You can't possibly understand what it was like to grow up as Quinn Fabray."

"Yes, but you make your choices, you don't have to be cruel…."

"And Quinn did just that, when she grew up, and got help. She made her choices then, when it was safer for her and she wasn't a terrorized child any longer. It's pretty amazing when you think of the fact she even admitted she loved…another girl, at that age, considering she was raised to think it was an abomination of the Devil's."

"This isn't 1876, Rachel."

Rachel looked exasperated. "Are you dense? You can't possibly understand your mother's horrible life. Neither of us can, Beth! It looked so golden on the outside, since that's how the Fabray's operate, but make no mistake…it was tragic. Tragic, Beth." Rachel paused, taking a breath to steel her nerves. "I would see the welts she would try to hide when she came home with a B…Actually, it was a B+, as I recall..." Rachel shook her head, tears in her eyes. "That was one fucked up family, Beth. You do know they kicked her out of the house when she was pregnant with you, right?"

"Yes..." Beth said, uneasily.

"Well, did you know that Quinn has a cousin, who is dead in a cemetery in Lima, because her father beat her for telling a guidance counselor she was being touched?"

Beth was shaken. "Wait…is that Ruthie? I though she committed suicide, due to her mental illness…."

Rachel scoffed. "I guess that's what murder becomes when you have money and standing. If her father wasn't rich, and her mother wasn't a Fabray, I imagine the cause of death might have read a little differently on the death certificate. I also imagine this fabricated 'mental illness' would be recognized for what it was...post traumatic stress disorder induced from years of abuse, Beth."

Beth was shaking, now.

"So when you sit in judgment of Quinn, think to yourself, how hard must it have been for her. This….this hollow girl, she fell in love, despite herself. She fell in love with a loud, obnoxious, Jewish daughter of two proudly out gay men. A girl, Beth! She tried to not feel these feelings, but she couldn't help herself. Everything she did just made it worse…so she did the only safe thing she could think of…" Rachel looked at Beth, meaningfully. "She tried to make me hate her. She rationalized, maybe then, if I hated her, I'd go away…."

"But you didn't."

"Nope." Rachel said, lightly. "I'm just awesome, in that way." She hugged Beth, and started dragging her away. "Enough heavy talk. Let's go see what Mr. Muccino's got in store for us this morning!"

XOXOXOX

Artie would often recount, looking back, that something happened to Beth's acting skills with a mere seven days left to go on the clock. She went from an amateur thespian, delivering a merely adequate performance as Q , and blossomed overnight into an actress. Out of nowhere, Beth developed depth, and offered an incredibly layered performance.

Beth Corcoran, walking into the shoes of her birth mother, with seven days left before opening night, delivered an interpretation well beyond her experience or years, portraying Q as woman who was….well, who she was. Beth offered rendition of "Q" that was true to the flawed heroine that she was at that time. Young Q was simultaneously tragic and arrogant; loving and conflicted; but undoubtedly irresistible, and madly in love.

Beth quickly dismissed any speculation when asked. If she did comment, it was something along the lines of, "Someone made me aware of how truly complex the human condition actually is, at a critical junction. I got a new lease on Young Q at just the right time. Through this process, um, I learned a lot about my incredible birth mother. Without this opportunity, I wouldn't have had this chance, otherwise. She would have forever remained an enigma to me...a porcelain Goddess, just like everyone imagines her to be. You know, untouchable. But she's not. She's warm, and kind, and shy...and she loves Rachel, enough to be a better person. So I'm grateful, because, well…my birth mother is … well. She's awesome." Quinn never asked why, but Beth started coming around to see her on breaks, and hug her, and ask her a million questions; she even gave her a framed picture of them a day before opening night. Quinn felt a swell of happiness in that moment, and hugged Beth for all she was worth. Rachel never mentioned the conversation or took the credit for their newfound closeness - she didn't have to. She was Rachel Berry...and she self-proclaimed, she was just "awesome" in that way, after all...

XOXOXO

Lea watched the metamorphosis of her ….what, her friend? Lea knew, deep down, that friends don't feel this much for each other, but they weren't more than friends. But she couldn't deny the pride she felt when she felt the energy, the intensity, the subclinical rage that just emanated off of Beth in the last few days before showtime.

And it made her…better. Beth's growth made Lea grow as well, in response.

They played off of each other like Ying and Yang. Bread and Butter. Biscuits and Gravy. Primarily because they captured the essence of the Quinn/Rachel Oil and Water dynamic. They were going through the dress rehearsal of the scene where Quinn gets in Rachel's face, and tells her how its going to be, how Finn loves her, and the subtext is clearly, "I love you, I want to have sex with you, and so I'm going to be dysfunctional and channel it into this boy." Beth looked phenomenal in her cheerleading outfit, all toned, and blonde, and she became Quinn Fabray. Older Rachel shuddered a bit, revert back as she watched Beth's electric performance.

Older Quinn sighed. "I wasn't that scary, was I?" She whispered.

"Oh, but you_ were_."

"It's only because I was so scared…of myself. Of what I felt, for you, Rach."

Rachel immediately softened. "I know. I think I even knew it then." She tenderly caressed Quinn's cheek, and the blonde leaned into the touch.

Onstage, Younger Rachel did not cower to the HBIC. After the slings of insults like "Getting ready for the tranny prom, Rachel?" and ""You know, you used to be just sorta unlikable, but now I want to punch you every time you open your mouth!" Rachel would bow right back up to her. The heat, the tension, the slap in the bathroom, to the evolution into the confession, "We're sorta friends, now, aren't we?" were poignant.

It all led to the closing moments of Act I, which saw young Q gifting Rachel metro passes to come visit her at Yale, and vice versa.

"Why do we always seem to have these moments in the bathroom, Q?"

"I don't know." She laughed and smiled, genuinely. "I have something for you. I hope you'll use them." This led into their heartbreaking final song.

The closing number of Act I was a certifiable show stopper. "Maybe This Time," sung by Lea and Beth, ironically, would be the only Top 20 song, in terms of radio play, from the incredible score. Despite the fact the soundtrack itself would go double platinum, it only had one pop hit single.

_Lea and Beth's._

There was something just…raw, about the two of them. Rachel and Quinn, the real ones, would catch themselves watching Act I, and it was honestly like looking into a portal to a different time...and they felt like they were watching themselves. While it had the occasionally weird moment, when viewing your life in this manner; inevitably, it would always make them smile.

"We were idiots."

"Pretty much." The blond agreed.

**TBC.**


	5. The Heady Days

**Chapter: The Heady Days**

The next few weeks were a whirlwind. They found themselves in the midst of becoming the zeitgeist, the show of the moment. It was on fire. They were on fire.

And they were falling in love.

There was nothing like the excitement of coming to work, and seeing each other. The first glance, the first innocent touch. They were so busy at first that they didn't have time to examine things, not really; but all Lea knew, is that she put everything she had into their one onstage kiss, every single night and for matinees as well.

And every single night, that one kiss—just a kiss—would send chills down her spine. Down to her toes. Her head. And mostly, between her legs.

The last time she had felt something like this was, well, Dianna; but they had acted on it so quickly, and it just as quickly burnt out. Then she only dated men from that point on. Safe. Easy. Familiar.

But now, Beth…

All of New York, it felt like, was watching this slow burn unfold. The difference with Beth, is that they weren't acting on it, actually. She felt so much, and yet, nothing was happening! Lea was not good, she decided, with delayed gratification. She was pretty sure she knew what the smoldering glances meant; the way Beth would find her, their "coincidental" touches…

And she _knew_ she felt Beth shake, when she kissed her, every night.

Her blue balls finally forced her to seek help.

"Rachel, do you have a minute?"She approached her idol, tentatively.

Rachel looked around, and whispered, "should we go get a death stick?"

"Yes. Absolutely, yes."

Three drags later, in the corner of the backlot behind the dumpster, the two Rachels were laughing at their illicit plight.

"What is it, my dear?"

"Rachel," She began, "How did you….well, you and Quinn. How did you finally get her to acknowledge that she had…feelings, for you?"

Rachel laughed heartedly. "Oh, my dear. _Fabray 101: _Understand that they don't admit. You need to get them to just act."

"How?"

"Throw yourself on them. Just do whatever it is – drag them to insemination classes, kiss them sensless, whatever. If you wait for any self awareness, you'll wait for a long time. Afterwards, they'll either thank you, and tell you that you were right; or they'll slap you and give you the silent treatment for, like, nine months."

Lea's eyes went wide.

Rachel took a drag, and took in her younger doppelganger.

"First, I want you to give it to me, about Beth."

Lea looked like a deer in the headlights. "What about Beth?"

"She is kicking ass, is she not?"

She smiled, remembering their earlier conversation. "Yes, that she is."

"And you're not exactly chewing the scenery around her, are you? In fact, you're barely holding your own."

Lea smiled.

"Umm-hmm."Murmured Rachel, knowingly. "Okay, you got the gum and mouthwash?"

"Right here."

Rachel took a swish and spit. She the gum in her mouth and started chomping away.

"Has anyone told you, you're an aggressive chewer?"

Rachel laughed. "Many, many people."

Lea looked at her with pleading eyes. "So, Rachel…what do I do?"

"About what? About the fact you two are madly in love with each other, and for some reason, don't seem to recognize what everyone else around you sees? I don't know, Lea, what do you usually do when you want something?" She said, with a gentle smile.

Realization dawned on her. She grinned.

"I …I go for it." Lea acknowledged.

"Exactly."

**XOXOXOX**

Beth didn't know what hit her. Lea's skirts were getting shorter, and shorter. She felt herself pervving after her friend, following the gentle slope of her legs upwards, with some pretty indecent staring. She wanted to see where those legs ended...badly.

Lea acted unfazed.

Beth wondered if it was just her imagination, but she could have sworn Lea was acting, well, suggestive. When she leaned over the counter to ask if the review had finally come out of the paper, revealing her entire cleavage to Beth, Beth's non-functional brain could only mutter, "_Gah_."

Lea laughed, and flounced away.

The review had come out, in fact. The New York Times review declared their show a brilliant smash! The cast decided to go out together after the evening performance to celebrate. Beth usually didn't do those things, until she felt tiny fingers wrapping in hers.

"We're going, aren't we, Beth?" Lea said, gazing upwards.

"Of course…um, sure. Naturally."

She was powerless. Kryptonite, remember…

Four shots later, Beth was sure she had lost her toes. She couldn't feel them. And she felt all hot and buzzy. And the small brunette pressed against her all night was making her even hotter.

She turned her head downwards, putting her nose into the brunette mane.

"Your hair smells so good, Lea."

"Are you sniffing her hair?" Screetched Rosario, across the bar, laughing.

Beth blushed, immediately. She started to pull away, but Lea gripped her tighter. Eyes had turned in their direction. Lea's eyes got fiery black. "So what if she is? Mind your own business, Dawson."

Weaving through the crowd, she pulled Beth outside, and against a wall. Privacy, at last…

"Sorry about that. I guess that was, um, kind of creepy."

"No. That was sweet. Just like you."

Beth looked down, but not in time for Lea to miss the small smile on her face.

"You're so serious all the time, Beth. Do you ever have fun?"

Beth sighed. "I do. My fun…just has different benchmarks than most other peoples, I guess."

Lea nudged underneath her chin, forcing her eyes to meet her own. "What do you consider…_ fun_?"

"Getting a organic chemistry reaction to actually work…um, running; hanging out with my friend, Stacy. Stuff like that."

"What about kissing?"

Beth gulped.

"What about it?"

"Is that fun?"

"I don't know, I guess…under the right conditions, I suppose it could be-"

Lea cut her off. "What about right now? Want to have some…_ fun_?"

Her eyes burned into the eyes above her.

In an almost silent reply, Beth whispered her consent. It was all she needed. Lea turned her head up, and placed her lips on the blonde's above her, pressing gently. It started off, as a whisper of a kiss, just a gentle touch.

Beth gasped, or moaned, or made some type of noise…but it was all Lea needed. She pressed herself harder into her, and used her tongue to find entrance between Beth's quivering lips. She felt Beth's tongue, slowly, meeting hers in return. It was tentative at first. Then, the fire exploded.

It was as though Beth woke up.

She pressed herself harder into the kiss, and her arms wrapped around the small brunette. Her hands went everywhere, groping. Purposefully, She ran her hands down Lea's backside, to her ass; she squeezed, and kneaded, and touched the backside that had been torturing her these past few days.

Lea felt heat shoot between her legs with the forceful caress, and it was her turn to moan.

Beth didn't hesitate this time. She returned the lingual kiss; she forced her entrance into Lea's mouth, swirling, exploring; she pressed her lips, hard, against hers. If Lea had any reservations about Beth' desire for her, they were eradicated completely. There was no doubt that she wanted her…badly. They pulled away, momentarily, to catch a breath. Lea didn't recognize the feral look on Beth's face. Beth quickly lowered her head, kissing Lea on her neck; sucking her, biting…leaving a mark.

Lea's nipples hardened. She was getting wet, down below, with each new ministration of Beth's surprisingly talented mouth. She felt her pelvis heating up. _She wanted her, God, she wanted her!_

She grabbed Beth harder, and kissed her again, trying to press them into the same person.

Beth felt so good…

"Losers! Beth, your mom wants you!" Shouted someone from the door.

Beth groaned, pulling herself away.

"Which one?"

"Both of 'em. Get your ass in here, and bring short stack, too! And wipe your mouth, gross!"

They looked at each other, dazed.

Beth groaned. "Shall we head in?"

"I guess."

Quietly, she said, "Um…to be continued?"

"Most definitely."

"Okay, then…"

Smiling, the two girls walked towards the door, hand in hand. As they looked lovingly into each other's gaze, little did they realize, the call was soon to come that would take Beth away.

TBC.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter: Until January**

It was wonderful, for Beth. She was happy. She felt…normal. She looked forward to waking up, because that meant she got to see the woman she was falling in love with.

Lea insisted they "take it slow." Beth didn't realize that meant_ painfully_ slow. Artic slow. Glacier slow.

"My god, I get more action in the play then I do in real life!" She grumbled.

"Listen, Beth, I've told you. The only other serious relationship with a woman I've had was ruined because we rushed into it _way_ too fast. My god, we were the epitome of the U-haul lesbians. Everything was hurry up, hurry up; we didn't wait to see if we were actually compatable."

"And?"

Lea sighed. "It's complicated. We were, and we weren't. In the end, I do think we had serious differences that wouldn't have made us good life partners. But we had sex the minute we met, and neither of us really cared after that who was compatable or anything…it was just sex, sex, sex; that clouded everyone's judgement. Since we worked together, it could have been awkward."

Beth snorted. "You think?"

Beth was getting annoyed. She didn't like the pang of jealousy that was blossoming in her chest over this mysterious woman who had "sex, sex, sex" with _her_ woman, though. Beth was not used to being jealous. People were generally jealous ove_r her,_ or jealous_ because_ of her…not the other way around. And not because she tried to make people jealous…they just were. Jealous. Of their own volition.

And now, Beth found herself in the other seat. She was jealous. And she realized: _ it kinda sucked._

She flirted with the idea of withdrawing a bit, detaching - because she felt things so strongly with Lea, in ways she didn't expect. But try as she might, that idea was totally unrealistic. She could detach from Lea with the same probability of water avoiding the drain. It just wasn't happening, and so, she went with it.

They became inseparable, over the next weeks.

That didn't go unnoticed. Lea was grilled by Quinn and Shelby, who one day even alternated peppering questions at her, until _Rachel_ finally rescused her. When she learned of the proverbial raking over on the coals that Lea underwent, Beth threatened to walk off. She even made the two women apoligize to Lea, an uncomfortable moment for all.

Insane mothers, Beth could handle. What was actually difficult for her was the tug of guilt she felt with Stacey, her best friend from back home, who was growing increasingly discontent from her short stick. Stacy admittedly grew frustrated by the fact someone else commanded her attention, until Lea insisted they skype everyday, so that Lea could "get to know her." But really, she wasn't doing it for herself; she was doing it for the two best friends, so she wouldn't be responsible for any perceived rift. She was _wonderful_ with Stacy. And that character trait had an interesting effect on Beth...

It made Beth want to have sex with her,_ all the more._

They were sharing a loveseat, one Saturday, and Beth was lazily running her fngers through Lea's hair. "It's so thick!" She murmered. "I love your hair."

"You won't love cleaning it out of the drain, so I've been told."

"Let me guess...by the Sexsexsex-UHaul lesbian?"

"Among others."

Beth sat up. "Lea, I need you to do something for me. "

"_Okayyy…_"

"I need you to stop fucking referencing everything relative to your last relationship. I am** not** that person; I am **not** going to hurt you; I am very dependable, actually. So stop expecting the worst from me before you've even given me the chance to show you…_better!"_

Tears had started to form in Lea's eyes.

"Ohmigod, have I _really_ been dong that?"

"Yes."

"I'm so sorry, Beth.. I am."

"Don't be sorry, just stop. Stop doing it."

Lea nuzzled into Beth's neck and held on for dear life. Why _did _she do that? Why did she always expect the worst from people?

"Beth…" Lea was talking in a small voice.

"Yes?" She answered, stroking her hair, gently.

"They've started auditioning girls for your part, on the sly. They haven't come right out and said it, but I can tell – I've been around this business long enough to know what quacks like a duck."

"Well, shit, I thought I was doing an okay job!" Beth said, irritated.

Lea perked up. "So, this casting change...it isn't coming from you?"

"No! What, you mean, like I'm quitting? Of course not."

Lea exhaled, and smiled with relief.

"Were they any good?"

"_Meh._ Not really. Anna Camp seemed like the best, but really, no one stood out."

"I guess mom just assumes I'm going back to school in the fall, and is trying to prepare."

"What if I told you I'm on hiatus until Janurary?"

"Janurary? Its, like, not even September now!"

"I'm aware."

"Holy fuck,_ Janurary?_ God, Lea, that show of yours never has a regular season like everyone else!"

"Okay, okay. Fine. But back to the larger issue: Are you open to taking at least one semester off? That way, we can see where this things goes. We can see how we do over Christmasanukauah. We can see how we fit, if you wait until January. "

"Until January?"

"Yup. January."

"To see where this goes. By that, you mean, with us...of course?"

"Of course."

To Lea's great surprise, Beth _agreed_. She agreed, for once, to follow her heart and do the thing that inspired her. She decided to follow her heart for something bigger, and it was definitely against her personal code to make such an emotional decision.

But she wasn't actually thinking of how heavy of a decision she had committed to in that moment. In that moment, all she was thinking of was Lea's lips...and how full and plump they looked. How totally kissable she seemed today. So she ghosted over those magnificient lips with her own, and kissed Lea, firmly, on the mouth.

She broke away make eye contact, and to confirm their decision. She acknowledged it to herself, and to the woman underneath her, with a simple 'I do'.

"I do...I_ do_ want to see where this goes, Lea. Until January."

"Till Janurary, then."

They kissed one small kiss. Almost chaste, but it got he point across. _They'rell be time for me to feel that ass up and down the way I want to,_ Beth thought. I'm going to _bang her so hard she forgets that Sexsexsex UHaul Lesibian even happened..." _

_"_I'm telling Mom not to let Anna Camp touch my shit. I"ll be back in a minute."

TBC


	7. I want forever with you

**Chapter: I Want Forever With You.**

"Lea."

"Beth."

The tall blonde cleared her throat, awkwardly. "Would you like to come in?"

"I believe that is the point of a date, yes. Eventually, two people will actually be in the same room, at the same time." The brunettes eyes twinkled merrily.

"Um, yes. Come in." Beth said, stiffly.

_God, how is she so socially awkward?_ Mused Lea. _She's Beth Corcoran, for God's sakes!_

Lea attempted to subtly take in the room in a few polite glances, but really, she was distracted by how shy Beth was. Normally, she was confident and even aloof; now, she was almost...embarrased. Granted, this was the first time Lea had actually been over to Beth's place, but she was acting ridiciously shy.

"So, my mom and I, Shelby...um, we ended up sort of throwing together a place. We hadn't really planned on staying in New York, but Mom did that play with Rachel, then she did Wicked, then they asked her to do the music for this show...I had already gone back to school, and um, I came back, too. We hadn't really planned on staying as long as we did."

Lea gently put her hand on Beth's arm.

"Your place is_ fine,_ Beth. It's much bigger than my folks' place in the Bronx! I love it here, it reminds me of, well, you know..._you._"

Beth smiled, shyly. "Yeah, it has taken on more of my personality, really. Mom usually isn't here much now, she's over at Puck's, you -" Beth cut herself off quickly, and her eyes went wide.

Lea didn't miss it, however.

"_What?_ Your mom? And _Puckerman_? Are you shitting me?" Lea's eyes were wide with disbelief, and then she started laughing, hysterically.

"Oh my god, Lea- you can't tell anyone! And I mean it! _No one!_"

Lea made the "cross my heart and hope to die" motion with her fingers.

"That's fine with me,_ c'est la vie_, right? I mean, after all, _I want to fuck her daughter._..so who am I to judge?"

_"Lea Michele Safariti!_" Beth said, in mock horror.

Lea took a step closer.

"Because_ I do_, you know..."

Beth involuntarily took a step backwards. Her back met the hallway wall, where they were standing in the foyer.

"You do...what?" Beth croaked.

"I do..." Lea said, eyes darkening as she leaned forward towards Beth, "...want to**_ fuck_** her daughter."

Beth was pressed against the back wall. Her face was flushed, slightly.

"You do?"

The dark eyes focused on the blonde's. "Yes. I do. Very much. _ I want to fuck her daughter._"

Lea placed both hands on either side of Beth's head on the wall. She pressed her body against Beth's; she could feel the slight tremble of Beth's body, from her proximity. With a certain smugness, she tipped her head upwards, bringing her lips to ghost against Beth's, their breath intermingling.

"I want to _fuck her daughter_, Beth."

Beth swallowed. She felt like her head was going to explode. Hadn't she wanted this, just days before? Hadn't she wanted Lea to step up her game a bit, and stop blue balling her? Wasn't _she_ the one complaning about glaciers and arctic vaginias? So here she was, alone, in a house with her sort of girlfriend, who apparentely was no longer regulated to the "above the belt, above the shirt" rules anymore. Did she mention she was alone? Like, no interruption for the _entire weekend_, while Shelby visited her relatives upstate, kind of alone.

So what the fuck was her problem?

"Yo-You do?" Stammered Beth.

Lea nodded, meaningfully. "Yes, **I do**._ Now_, as a matter of fact."

Lea didn't wait for any kind of a response from Beth. Lea pressed her lips hungrily into Beth's, searching; she sought her tounge with her own. Beth's tentative and hesatiant response was met with Lea's passionate and very deliberate motions. Without realizing it, Beth let out a small moan. It only reinforced Lea's apparant newly rediscovered passion, and she redoubled her tounge's efforts in Beth's mouth.

Lea's hands, previously pressed up against the wall, flanking Beth's head, did not stay there for long. They were all over Beth, raking her body. Feeling her. Touching her. Lea's lips, as well, seemed to be everywhere, all at once. Beth felt Lea's hot breath pressed up against her neck, and nipping her slightly, sucking, and marking her. Lea was being very forward, directive...clearly, she knew what she wanted.

And she wanted it _now._

As quickly as she started, she pulled away. Lea turned from the stunned Blonde, and walked over calmly to the stairwell. Turning her head over her sholder, she looked over her shoulder.

"Well? Are you coming?"

Beth gulped. "But, the gnocchi...on the stove...um, it's going to overcook."

Lea turned incrediously to face Beth. Looking every bit as overdramatic as the character she was currently playing, she said bluntly, "Beth! _Fuck the gnocchi._ I don't want to eat that. I want to eat...**you**."

Beth was stunned, silent.

"But you haven't even taken off your coat, Lea."

Lea looked down, smirking. "Oh, yes. That. Let me take off my coat, then."

Lea removed her Burberry coat and flung it over the railing of the stair, to reveal herself wearing only a matching red push-up bra with matching underwear underneath the now abandoned coat.

"I took off my coat, Beth."

Beth's eyes raked over the feast in front of her eyes, and she thought she might have actually drooled a little. Her throat went dry, as she could only nod in agreement.

"Are you coming?" Lea asked the speechless woman behind her.

"Apparantely, I will be, soon."

Lea grinned, turned, and headed upstairs.

Beth shook her head. _What the hell happened?_ She mused. Biting her lip, nervously, she headed up the stairs, after her little dynamo. She said a silent prayer in that short journey, that Lea wouldn't recognize how truely inexperienced she really was; hopefully, she could pull off that she had never had sex before...with anyone.

Because she wanted to...with Lea. She really did.

What if she was terrible? What if Lea never wanted to have sex with her again, and even dumped her, to go find that sex,sex,sex ex-girlfriend of hers? Someone who could actually get her off, if Beth couldn't. God, why hadn't she done any research?

Lea had already vanished upstairs and instinctively Beth knew where to find her. She walked into her bedroom, and the sight before her rendered her speechless.

Lea Michele. Naked. On top of her bed , wearing only a "come hither" look.

Beth swallowed. "Not that I'm complaining, Lea, but what happened? I mean, I thought we were taking it slow.."

The brunette laughed. "Oh, that . Yes. We would, in an ideal world. However , I had lunch with Rachel today. She hrlped me realize his truly repressed you Fabray women really are. She reiteritared that if I wait for YOU to be ready, I could be waiting years and years..."

Lea licked her lips, and lowered her voice.

"Beth...I really don't want to wait any longer... Do you?"

TBC


	8. Forever Ain't What It Used To Be

**Disclaimer: ** Don't own any people, real or fake

**Rating: **PG here, will defervesce into an M later...

**A/N:** Nothing, really. Thanks for reading, reviews are lovely. Anyone else cry their guts out last Thursday?

**Chapter: Forever Ain't What It Used To Be...**

Beth swallowed.

It was odd. She spent so much time complaining about the fact Lea wouldn't let them get to exactly this point, in the past. Now that her... previous hesitations weren't an issue, Beth was kinda _freaking out._

It would appear that she was she would be indeed having sex, shortly... With Lea. Like, instantaneously. Pronto. Now.

Beth swallowed again, hard.

Showtime!

Beth was now firmly confronted with the fact she wasn't sure she was ready. She had never had ax with a woman, before. She had never had sex with anyone, before. Ever. All of a sudden, her Fabray bravidio was gone. Racing brought her mind on a continuous loop was the fact Lea had sex, sex, sex before with someone... Probably some gorgeous Hollywood someone that Beth wouldn't measure up to in performance or looks.

And the one thing a Fabray hates is to feel insecure...

"So, Lea, are you always this forward? I mean, your behavior is...wow. Unexpected. I'm going to have to ask...don't take this the wrong way... have you been _tested_ recently?"

Lea looked like she had been slapped.

Beth felt immediately regretful for what she said, but instead of apologizing, she steeled her features to a neutral expression. She raised her eyebrows in question, instead.

Lea drew herself back to her knees and gathered Beth's throw around her naked body, perhaps to unconsciously shield herself.

"_No_, Beth, I haven't been _tested_ recently, but I haven't had sex in over a year. I was exclusive with my last two partners-"

Beth cut her off. "Really? How many have there been?"

Apparently, Fabrays really,_ really_ don't like to feel insecure.

Lea closed her eyes. After a beat, she opened them. "You know, this seems like.. not the right idea at this time. Maybe some other time." She stood up and collected her clothes to get dressed. As Beth watched her pick up her sundress, her mind screamed at her, _You idiot! Do something! Say something_! But she seemed paralyzed at he moment, incapable of unfucking this situation she created.

"What, am I _wrong_ to be concerned?" Beth said,coldly. "I mean, you're the one bringing up all this 'sex, sex, sex' you've had with other people, so..."

There was a very pregnant pause.

"No, Beth, of course you're not wrong for those concerns," Lea said as she dressed. "I just wish...oh, I don't know...I wish you would have found a way to be _more gallant_ about asking the question, though."

Lea, finally dressed, stood and turned to leave. "And, what I really wish, is that when it came right down to it, is this: if you thought so little of me, I wish you wouldn't have led me on _all this time_."

Beth mind was screaming, _No! no! No! Beth, you idiot!_

But because Fabrays are incapable of admitting fault in any emotionally laden a situation, her mouth said, "Fine, then. I'll see you tomorrow."

She watched the brunette walk out her door, and did nothing to stop her.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"God damn it, what?" Beth hollered at whomever was pounding on her front door. It was 11 o'clock at night, who the fuck was it? She wanted to be left alone, to cry her eyes out and use up all the kleenex in the house.

"Open up, idiot!"

Beth opened up the door, hesitantly. There stood the one person who might actually understand what was going through her mind right now.

"Hi, Quinn." She said, quietly.

Quinn pushed her way past the younger blonde, towards the kitchen. "You got ice?"

"I-I think so."

"Well, shit, lets get it. We have some drinking - and talking - to do."

Quinn looked meaningfully at the frozen girl, still in the doorway.

"What, did I stutter? Now!"

TBC


	9. REALITY Check

**Story: I'm Not Your Rebound**

**Pairings: **Beth Corcoran/Lea Michele; Quinn Fabray/Rachel Berry

**Ratings: **Gettin' Hot in Herrre...

**Disclaimers:** Don't own Glee, Don't own Ryan Murphy, Lea Michele, the characters, even the little "Glee" sound at commercial break. All for good clean fun. Non-profit.

**A/N: **It is helpful to have read "Shell Collector" first, but not mandatory. Sorry for the slllllooooow burn, and we're going to be getting to the issues that titled this story soon. It might be sad. But for every rainbow, there's gonna be a little rain sometimes...right?

**Chapter: Reality Check**

The one person, the absolute one person, who understood how Beth was feeling, was sitting across from her on the couch. Although, there were kind of two of her at this moment...

God, why does she drink gin?

And that one person was wobbling around a lot.

"Beth, we keep talking," Quinn burped quietly, "...around and around and _around_ in circles. Here's the bottom line: _ you're a dipshit_."

"I believe you've already said that."

"_And_ you're a fucking coward."

"Mmm. That too."

"And you _want_ Lea, want her _so much_ that you're creaming your little skinny jeans for her, and yet, you'd rather let her walk out the door than have your pride wounded. Fucking stupid, Beth."

"You've said that, too."

"So, what, you're going to let someone else get all up on that?"

Beth head, despite her imbibed state, snapped to attention. "What did you say?"

"That's right, that's what I said." Quinn channeled her best Santana swagger in her drunken state that she could muster. "Get all up. _On that._ That's what I said."

"Who? What?"

"Oh, for Christ sakes, how are you an honor student? Could you please activate my genes, instead of Puckerman's? I said: _Get all up on that_. Like, say, Rosario. Lea's hot. She's not going to wait around forever, for your indecisive ass. Don't think I haven't noticed people staring at her."

Beth started grinding her teeth. She had noticed that, actually.

"Stop grinding your teeth, Beth."

"Stop telling me what to do, **_Quinn_**."

"Start acting like an adult, then."

"_You_ stop acting like a child!" The younger girl replied.

They stared each other down, and then burst out in drunken laughter. Quinn poured out the last of the Ketel One into Beth's glass, as they had polished off the Gin.

"Should we be drinking this much?"

"No. Absolutely not."

"Should we eat something?"

"And interfere with this lovely buzz? Never!"

Beth started getting sullen again, thinking about how wrong the evening had turned out. Sure, she loved bonding with her bio mom, but not under these conditions. And certainly not when she should have been getting thoroughly serviced by one beautiful diva.

"Stop pouting, Beth. This is your own doing."

"God, you suck at making someone feel better, Quinn!"

She cast a leveling glare with her hazel eyes into her daughter's reflection. "I've been told that, many a time, Beth. Get in line."

"So, why did you come over here, exactly? Cause you really suck at pep talks."

"I'm here because I couldn't handle TWO Rachel's being all histrionic in my living room, threatening to eat ice cream and watch "Funny Girl" in a long loop all night, chain smoking. God. I can't handle the one that I have, much less yours. It's too much drama."

Beth's jaw dropped. "Lea..._ Lea_ went over to your house?"

"Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Because...I don't know...because, well, you're my people._ You're mine!_"

"Did you come over?"

"Well, _no._"

"Did you call us, and say you needed us?"

"No."

"Was there any indication, whatsoever, that things were amiss in the Beth Corcoran world of magic?"

"Hardee Har Har."

"_Was_ there?"

"Technically...**no**."

"That's right!" Quinn waved a dramatic finger in the air. "And even un-technically, as well!"

Beth looked at Quinn, glumly. "How was she?"

"Devastated. Rejected. Confused. Hurting... Beth, I mean, really...what do you think?"

Beth said nothing, choosing instead to focus on some lint on the carpet.

"Beth! Look, I know you. Hell, I am you. And I hope you come to the realization, long before I did, that it doesn't matter what people think. It matters what you think. How you face yourself in the morning. Because honestly, if you're true to yourself, everything else will fall in place. People will be drawn to that...because people spend so much time being fake and putting up their social masks. Be yourself. Be true to yourself. Admit that you love Lea, and you're scared what that means."

Beth laughed, hollow.

"You think this is just gay panic, Quinn?"

_"Isn't_ it?"

Beth snorted. "No, Quinn, that's your issue. I was raised by Shelby, you and Puck. No, I'm fine with the fact I might be gay. I'm just not fine that I might not be _good_ at... um, being gay. You know, like the actual act itself..."

Quinn looked at her incredulously. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"What? About what?" Beth said, embarrassed.

"This is just about_ you don't know how to fuck a woman_? **Oh my fucking god!** I'm calling Rachel." Quinn said, as she pulled her phone out of her pocket.

Beth ripped the phone out of her hand. "God damn it, Quinn! Could you just be on my side, for once? I mean, I know you make it a habit of giving up on me, but it would be nice if _for once_ you were actually help-" Beth cut herself off, mid sentence, realizing what she said.

Was she meant to devastate everyone she loved, all in one night?

Quinn spoke, in clear, measured tones. "While that is deserved, Beth, that is a _very painful thing_ for you to say. To me."

Beth hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry, LQF, you know I don't mean that."

Quinn spoke coolly. "Maybe you do, maybe you don't. It's fair. " She exhaled, and ran her fingers through her hair, collecting herself. "Regardless, I'm here, now. And I'm all yours. And from the looks of it," she said with a wry smile, "I may be all you've got at the moment."

Beth was silent.

"Wait here." Quinn stumbled upstairs, and came back down with two of Beth's stuffed animals.

"What are you doing with Mr. Sniffles and Pokey Junior?"

"Lesbian Sex, 101: How To Drive a Diva Crazy." Quinn said, proudly.

For the next somewhat horrifying 15 minutes, Quinn enacted how to have all kinds of nasty sex with a Rachel. Beth watched, horrified, yet fascinated. She did learn a great deal, but it was peppered with the startling realization that with 100% probability Quinn had done these things to her Aunt Rachel.._.ew!_ And Quinn was kind of violating Mr. Sniffles and Pokey Junior in the process, despite the fact they were excellent visual aids.

However, her confidence afterwards, the dignity of two stuffed animals nowithstanding, had undeniably improved. She asked questions, first, tentatively; by the end, she was asking her PhD dissertation level questions at the end, startling even Quinn. Beth was very, well,detail oriented...

"Okay, this is good. I'm going to watch this YouTube Video now for... what did you call it? Frottage?"

Beth watched, taking notes. When she looked up, Quinn was fast asleep on the couch. Quietly, she pulled the blanket over her, and put a glass of water with aspirin next to her.

"Thanks, Mom." She whispered, as she walked out the door.

**XOXOXOXO**

"Who's that banging?" Rachel said.

"I don't know, but it's_ pouring_ outside!"

"Oh, shit, it's probably Quinn. She indubitably forgot her key, again. Wait here."

Rachel opened the door, getting ready to scold Quinn for being so irresponsible yet again, but instead was met with a mess of wet blond hair and a much younger version of Quinn. It was Beth, borderline hypothermic, possessing a slightly desperate look in her eyes.

"Oh my God! Beth Corcoran, you get in the shower right now!"

"Is Lea still here?"

"That's irrelevant. Get in the shower this instant, young lady!"

"I need to talk to Lea!"

"After your shower, you drunk ass. Where is Quinn?"

"Passed out on my couch."

"Great. I better go over there and retrieve her. Beth, you are not going home in this weather at this hour, you're lucky you weren't killed! Stay in the guest bed room tonight, we probably should have had you over to stay as soon as Shelby left town."

"Thanks."

"Towels are in the right cabinet."

Retrieving her keys and purse while the shivering blonde showered, Rachel instructed Lea, as she left, "Lea...it's Beth. She's drunk, and won't stop asking about you. I'm going to get her equally emotionally stilted and drunken mother from _her house_ and bring her over. Can you please make sure Beth gets into the spare bedroom and doesn't choke on her own vomit and die?"

"No."

Rachel gave her a look.

"Oh, okay, fine. No vomit choke tonight."

"Thank you dear. I"ll see you in the morning."

**XOXOXOXO**

Lea tightened her jaw and got ready to face the blond in the shower. Marching in, she was startled to see a naked Beth, towelling herself off with a large fluffy pink towel, straight out of some softcore porn movie.

"Oh! Sorry! Um, Beth, I didn't know you were undressed."

"Come in." She said, in a remarkably sober sounding voice.

"No, I_-um_, am fine out here."

"But what if I _want_ you to be... in here?"

"I'll wait."

"But, it's a big fluffy towel. Its big enough..for two."

Walking over to Lea, she opened the towel and enveloped Lea in it. "Take off your clothes, please."

"Excuse me?"

"I said... _please._"

Draping the said towel around her, she lasciviously peeled the top layer off of Lea's clothes off, shirt and camisole; leaving her toned stomach exposed, which Beth found she couldn't help but to rake her fingers across. Head cocked, she continued scratching her fingers across the beautiful skin.

"God, Lea, _you feels so good._.."

Moving closer, she kissed the side of her neck with a hunger she didn't know she had. Lea, despite wanting to be mad, seemed to be much less principled under the ministrations and intensity of Beth's roaming lips.

"How about_ here,_ Lea?" Beth asked, tugging at the bra clasp she was sporting..soon of which was forgotten as it popped the bra off her body with its release, Her perfect, perky breaks sprang to life, and as if on command.

Hell, maybe it was on command.

Beth snaked her hands around to Lea's front, palming both of her breasts in each hand. Deftly, she slid her fingers around Lea's pink and erect nipples, and began to tease them to a hard point. She rubbed, twisted, and pinched; Lea involuntarily shivered.

_Fabray's Lesson #1: They Love It When You Play With Their Nipples._

Beth continued to rub, then massage the whole breast, then bring her fingers to the tips and squeeze. Beth kneaded, massaged, and pinched Lea's responsive nipples relentlessly, and Lea was _furious_ that her wetness between her legs betrayed her

Abruptly, Beth turned Lea around, and looked her dead in the face, with no remorse or gloating visage. Rather, she simply pushed her slightly by the shoulders, backwards. Lea felt her legs come into contact with the bed...it broke her concentration slightly; and Beth used the opportunity to push her onto the bed. Beth lunged on top of her, and pushed her upwards literally, by the armpits, and with one last meaningful look, she roughly pulled Lea's pants off.

"Excuse me?" Lea protested. "You've yet to apologize, or even explain your behavior!"

"Really?" Beth arched her eyebrows. With a feral grunt, she gripped Lea's mound harshly and squeezed. Lea let out a small moan, but regained her composure.

"You want me to_ apologize?_ You want me on my knees, Lea?" As she spoke, without hesitation, Beth began sliding her fingers, forcefully, through Lea's folds, palpating the wet desire that belied Lea's attempts at remanding the untamed blonde. Back and forth, back and forth, in a deliberate swirling motion went Beth's fingers, rubbing the wetness and the sticky lubrication Lea was horrified to learn was exponentially spilling from her opening with each pass of Beth's finger tips. "No, I don't think you do Lea. I think the fact your _so_ fucking wet for me now, just says it all...doesn't it, Lea?" She finished, deliberately.

Lea gasped as Beth's head swooped to her breast, and her mouth circled her nipple. Her hips gave a small buck as she felt the electricity from Beth's forceful sucking shoot down to her clit and beyond.

_Fabray's Rule #2: They Love It When You Take Charge: Especially in The Bedroom._

Beth pulled up off of Lea's breast; she had sucked so hard she had left a small hickey across the underside of her breast at the tips of the aerola. Her hand was rubbing faster and with more intensity; however, after she circled her opening, she would press down slightly on her clit and pinch. I_t was making Lea fucking crazy._

_""I_ actually don't think that's what you want from me, at all, Lea. No...in this moment, I think you just want me to fuck your hole... _don't you_, Lea?"_  
_

Swipe, circle, press hard...

"_Ughhnh_...No."Lea said, biting her lip, fighting her desire that was leaking out of her everywhere.

Swipe, circle, press harder...

"Fuck!"The small brunette exclaimed.

_"Yeahhh,_ that what I feel. There." Beth said, with emphasis.

Swipe, circle, circle, rub, circle...

"God, Beth, I want you. I don't want it this way..." she said, unconvincingly.

Propping up on an elbow next to her, Beth started to tweak Lea's nipples, in addition to the ministrations on her pussy that was now sopping with wetness. Lea's hips ungulated, as if begging for release.

"Really?" Beth said, incredulously. "You're telling me, you don't want to feel me..." she leaned close to Lea's ear, leaving the husky statement behind in the aroused woman's ear. She calmly said, "You don't want to feel me...**_here?_**"

Beth corkscrewed three fingers into Lea, without preamble.

She was so wet, that Beth slid in to the hilt of her knuckles.

"_**God**_, you're such a fucking slut for me, aren't you Lea?" Beth asked, rhetorically as she continued to pull out her fingers and immediately corkscrew them back in to the aroused entrance.

_Fabray Rule #3: They Love To Be Treated Nasty In Bed - The dirtier the better._

Lea's hips were bucking as she chanted out, "No, I'm not._..oh, God.._.."

With one arm, Beth pulled off her top, over her blonde messy hair. "Take my bra off, you slutty,_ slutty _girl..."

Lea did as she was told, and Beth rubbed their chests together as she continued to deliberately enter and withdraw from her hole below. The feeling of their skin to skin contact was too much for Lea, as that hand pummeled in and out of her. Beth was dragging her nipples back and forth against Lea's.

She was _sure_ she was going to die, it felt so fucking good.

"Push your tits together, Lea."

_"What?"_

_**"Do it.**_ Fucking now, Lea. Push them together, so the nipples are practically touching."

Lea hesitantly did so, slowly.

"More, fucking push them together, Lea. Harder."

Beth continued to pump in and out of the small brunette, whose legs had spread undeniably wider more to permit access to her.

"Good, now fucking hold those tits together, you slutty girl."

The circling was harder, and Lea was going to die soon if Beth didn't enter her. She gasped, when Beth aligned her mouth over both nipples, and descended onto them. Beth sucked both nipples.._.at the same time._

Lea kept pushing inward on her tits, attempting to almost squeeze more desperately into Beth's mouth. There was no question she as a tactile person she just didn't expect it to be this person she would need to be tactile with...

Beth bit down on her nipples, as she simultaneously curved her fingers tight inside of Rachel's opening. She felt the rough patch of skin Quinn had talked to her about...she hit it, again, and again, and again.

"Fuck, I ... fuck, Beth. Fuck, _oh god_...fuck me."

Beth sucked the nipples, and twisted erratically into the battered hole while she felt Lea's shudder. She felt Baby Rachel's walls clamping down on her hand, she felt her body ungulate slightly, and she spewed. .

She removed her affixed her lips from her left breast...with a deliberate motion, she put her fingers into her mouth to deliberately put on a show for Lea."

"God, I love the taste of that... " She said, as she licked her fingertips. "Now, I want seconds, damn it, because you taste so fucking good, Lea! You taste like you were meant to be fucked like this..." She entered her again, deliberately, and withdrew, putting her fingers in her mouth and licking the tips.

Lea was watching the blonde, mesmerized.

They laid down, heads on the pillows, facing each other. Beth looked down, then solidly back at Lea.

"Lea," She began quietly, "I'm sorry, for earlier tonight. I was just afraid I would be inexperienced...that you'd not be interested, when you saw how...virginal I really am."

Lea snorted. Drawing the blonde closer, she said, "Apoligy accepted. Now come here and fuck me again."

_Fabray Rule #4: Always, always, apologize afterwards, when it is your fault. Accept Responsibility._

**XOXOXOXOX**

"Oh, God. I'm already ready for you to fuck me again..."

There was a banging on the wall. A muffled voice came through the wall. "No, you don't want to fuck again! You want to go to sleep Might I remind you all four of us work tomorrow!"

"Oh God!" Cringed Lea. "How long have they been listening?"

"_Too fucking long!_ Go to bed!"

The next day, the performance wasnt the best delivered by the cast of the shell collector, but it was noted that certain cast members were not grumpty that day..

TBC


	10. The Lull

**Story: I'm Not Your Rebound**

**Pairings**: Beth Corcoran/Lea Michele, Rachel/Quinn

**Disclaimers:** Still Don't Own These Characters, Real or Imagined. All for Non Profit fun. No animals were harmed during the production of this story.

**Ratings**: M

**A/N:**** The** Red Sox Are going to the World Series! 'Nuff Said. Oh, and there is some angst coming soon. The title of this story had a point...sorry.

**Chapter: The Lull...**

_"What goes up, must come down."_

-Sir Isaac Newton

It was a crazy, wonderful time for the young actresses; critical acclaim; working in a wonderful situation with people you call your friends and your family; the lucky happenstance of actually wanting to come to work every day…

_Oh, and, of course:_ mind blowing, heart-stopping, sexual gratification on a nearly daily basis.

It would seem that once Beth got her sea legs, there was no stopping her. She wanted to have sex, _all the time_. As if making up for years of unintentional abstinence would be palliated by ruining another set of sheets with the diminutive TV actress. Lea was her real life, in-the-flesh, sex toy; and honestly, there were days when Lea felt like her parts had been rearranged by Beth the night before.

She was kind of insatiable.

It took Beth the next seven days, after they first had sex, to convince Lea that she had been a virgin the night of the fluffy pink towel encounter. As it evolved, their lovemaking became more consuming, and Beth was rarely satisfied with "one." That word, "one," would not seem to appear to be not present in her vocabulary..._ever._ She demanded sex again, and again, and would fuck Lea even past the point of exhaustion on nights they had the next day off.

Usually, they would start with a conventional round, lots of touching, feeling, gentle kissing; and usually Beth would go first, and Lea second. Making Lea come, however, would generally undo Beth, and she would need a quick, hard one after. Sometimes Lea strapped it on, sometimes she fisted her; but she needed Lea in her afterwards, in whatever methodology would be most rapid in endgame.

Once Beth was sated with her second,_ hard_ fuck, then her mind turned towards the researched topic "du jour," and Lea would always remark jokingly that she "dreaded the second wave." Of late, what Beth seemed to really love was anal fucking Lea, while driving into her clit with a high frequency vibrator., until Lea was wrecked. Occasionally she would beg Beth to enter her vagina, but she never would; she wanted Lea to come from her ass-penetration, only.

Of course, Lea had initially protested the idea of anal sex, as she kind of viewed it as unsanitary, truth be known. However, Beth had been very persuasive on that night, begging, cajoling, and finally wearing her down. She reassured Lea she had read a lot about it, she had invested in hypoallergenic lube, and used a lot of it on her one finger before inserting it gingerly into the pink rosette, just up to her first knuckle; Lea closed her eyes with the sensation, as Beth gently worked her way in. Lea was shocked how good it felt, and how patient Beth had been, as she massaged her female prostate. The somewhat blunted orgasm that would initially follow from that first encounter would be Lea's undoing.

Because here they were, an month later, with Beth jamming her strap on dildo that vibrated and had a ribbed underside, deep into Lea's ass, riding her from the backside. They were a mess of sweat, flesh slapping against flesh as body contact was jade and grunts, and lube mixed with saliva; Lea was on all fours, almost bearing Beth's full weight as she continued to hammer deeper and deeper into the punished orifice. Lea's anal opening had clearly done this dance many times before with the blonde thrusting above her presently, as it rested with a slight gape these days. But amazingly, Lea didn't care. She had her deepest, hardest, and longest-lasting orgasm when her ass was involved. And Beth was a fast learner: she found Lea's currency quickly. In fact, Beth had ordered a series of several butt-plugs to just leave in Lea while they had sex, so that she would come with a more intense frequency when she did have "vanilla" sex.

Initially Quinn helped Beth , by helping them stockpile their own essential sex toys through Quinn and Rachel's "toy" account. Rachel put her foot down when they now eared the "platinum club status" and were viewed as "big spenders."

Beth got an account shortly thereafter and never looked back.

And for the most part, their life outside of the bedroom was pretty great as well. It would be hard, in all fairness, for real life to be as amazing as bedroom life was; but all in all, it wasn't bad. The two small irritations that Beth had about her lover were her own issues, she realized; she tried hard to bury it.

But there they were. Firstly, she hated that Lea lived in the closet – deep in the closet. The happiness she felt in finally being in love was washed away with Lea's psychotic need to never be photographed together or claim ownership of their relationship in had a nagging feeling it came from her workplace – she couldn't put her finger on it exactly, but she felt like Lea's boss really wanted hr to be heterosexual. Which was odd, for a show that preached "be exactly who you are." That apparently did not apply to it's star.

Secondly, Lea would cheap her to death. Lea was a successful actress with a good paycheck; at the end of the day, Beth was still a college student. This was the first time she earned more than minimum wage, ever. And she knew for a fact she was drawing the smallest paycheck of any of the lead actresses, show-wide! Yet, Lea would huff when the check would come on a dinner Lea insisted on them splitting the check, despite Beth's meager reserves. She made a mental note to herself she needed to talk to Lea about it.

The above two conditions would come together in a perfect storm one night. Firstly, the show Lea worked on was nominated for some award, and the cast was asked to attend. Beth tried to bury the resentment and disappointment she felt in the fact Lea dismissed her, sort of. Lea explained that "the cast usually just attends these things together - no S.O.s. It's better publicity," and Beth tried to understand. But it did hurt, to not even be asked, after all. She was falling in love with Lea, and she wanted to be by her side for the triumphs and the disappointments.

This was also on the same day that the ugly topic of January had reared its head, again. Beth had brought up post January, and Lea would deflect by asking if she was going to fly to see her and how great that would be. No mention of reciprocity or even Lea helping financially towards the coast to coast flights. Beth thought of the idiom, "damning with faint praise."

However, as she was three knuckles deep in her lady, she buried the nagging doubt and tried to be in the moment. After all, Lea was her girl.

Wasn't she?

TBC


	11. Before the Storm

**Story: I'm Not Your Rebound**

**Pairings: **Beth Corcoran/Lea Michele; Quinn Fabray/Rachel Berry

**Ratings: **M generally

**Disclaimers:** Don't own Glee, Don't own Ryan Murphy, Lea Michele, the characters, even the little "Glee" sound at commercial break. All for good clean fun. Non-profit.

**A/N: ** It is helpful to have read "Shell Collector" first, but not mandatory. Sorry for the slllllooooow burn, and as mentioned, we're going to be getting to the issues that titled this story soon. It might be sad. But for every rainbow, their's gonna be a little rain sometimes...right?

Chapter:** _...Before The Storm._  
**

Beth watched with a bowl of popcorn and a six pack of Sam Adams, her girlfriend (sort of) cavorting around with the members of the cast. She wondered if one of those girls was the _sexsexsex_ girl, and took another angry swig of her beer. She didn't like the way that big tall lunk who played her love interest kept hanging on her either, or that obviously fake amused laugh she would do when he whispered in her ear.

She was secretly glad when they lost to the HBO program.

_God_, she thought,_ I'm a terrible girlfriend. I should be cheering her on, not happy her show lost. What the hell? Then again_, she thought as she chomped down on more popcorn, _none of those people even know I'm alive. They don't even know I exist. Who am I? I'm a ghost..._

She waited until the show was over, hoping to get a call.

_Nothing._

So, she went to bed, trying hard to think of all the things that made them _good._ It was hard to remember them, feeling so invisible. The silence seemed to drown everything else out. Shelby had always raised her to be exactly who she was. That was so easy at McKinley, people respected her, for_ her._ She could have a best friend with Down's Syndrome; _no one_ messed with her. She could **not** have sex at 16 years of age, and it was okay. She could even go to college and start over, and people still liked her. She was her own person.

But... _this_ was a whole different world, designed to make the most sure-footed feel wobbly. She was suddenly on very shaky ground. She didn't know where she stood, she didn't know who she was anymore, and she _didn't like it._ Most importantly, Beth felt like a dirty secret, and it didn't sit well with her.

The phone rang, jarring her out of her sleep.

"Hello?" Beth picked up her phone.

"Ohhhhh, shitzzz. Beth? Honey? _Hiiiiiii!_"

"Lea?"

"Of course!"

"What time is it, Lea?"

"I think...it's tomorrow. I'm _wasted!"_

"No kidding." Beth said, dryly.

"Did you see we didn't win? Fucking HBO."_  
_

"I did see that, yes."

"Soooooo...did you think I looked pretty?" Lea asked, slurring slightly.

"I _always_ think you look pretty."

"_Awwww_. You're sweeeeeet."

Beth's eyes focused enough to see the clock read 5am, which meant it was 2am there. "Tell me you aren't driving, honey."

"No, my fake boyfriend is."

"Is he sober?" Beth asked, jaw set.

"He doesn't drink." Lea said.

The phone was uncomfortably silent.

"Beth?"

"Yes?"

Lea sighed. "Are you going to break my heart?"

Beth chuckled. "I'm not exactly a _heart breaker_, Lea. Hell, you're the first person I ever had sex with. So, no, I don't think so."

"Good. See you soon. Love you."

Then, the line went dead.

**XOXOXOXO**

Beth, as it turns out,_ would_ break Lea's heart. Badly.

Granted, it was somewhat unintentional, and there were definitely mitigating factors, but Lea's broken heart wasn't really interested in terms like "mitigating factors."

Beth ultimately would leave the show, to tend to her best friend from home. That would be the sentinel experience would lead her down a deliberate path to become a physician. Sadly, the first "diagnosis" she would render would be the one that changed her forever; the one that took away a bit of her soul. She called out an arrogant young resident who insisted Stacy (her best friend from high school,_ and_ Sue Sylvester's daughter) was _fine_. Beth instinctively knew that Stacey wasn't "fine," and, unfortunately, Beth was right. The _resident_ was wrong.

As fate would have it, the Chair of Internal Medicine was a fan of Beth's; because of who she was, he stopped by the bedside and heard her plea for further diagnostic testing.

As it would later turn out, because of Beth's concern for her unexplained neutropenia and anemia that had been ignored by the resident for nine days, Stacy immediately underwent total body scans and a bone marrow biopsy. They confirmed Beth's worst nightmare: Stacy wasn't getting better because her bone marrow was infiltrated with leukemia cells. It was late – in fact, the acute leukemia protocols gave her a very bleak 5 year survival rate. So bleak, that to even start, given the side effects of the chemothearpy protocol, would be cruel. 9 days turned out to be a lifetime, in this instance.

Beth was furious...and that fury would never go away, not entirely.

She wanted to scratch the _eyeballs_ out of that stupid resident's head.

She wanted to kill him with her bare hands.

She really did...she visualized it every night, as she was falling asleep, crying.

**Idiot.**

After many sleepless days, it finally arrived. The funeral. Stacy's wake was quick, and private. Only a few folks attended, at Sue's request. As Beth stood, from laying down her bouquet on her best friends' casket, Sue took Beth by the arm, and led her away. She whispered, "Beth, have you been having fantasies of killing that moronic resident?"

"I…_um_…How did you know?"

"Because….I know. I _know_. But Beth….that homicide fantasy isn't going to bring Stacy back." Beth hung her head. "Instead, its just going to get _you_ in a whole hot mess of trouble, which is why I recommend never getting caught in these circumstances." She grinned, weakly.

Sue looked at the horizon, squinting her eyes. "No, Beth. Even if you killed him, which I can't say I entirely disagree with, there's a dozen more idiots right behind him, just as arrogant, ready to disregard and misdiagnosed handicapped kids. Why? Because they just don't matter. They don't...Beth, there's only one way to really get at this, and its not getting that Dr. Ricecakes, despite the satisfaction you'd feel _twisting his chicken neck with your bare hands until it snaps_..."

"Coach?"

"Oh, sorry. Yes, Beth?"

"What is it, then?"

"What?"

"**What** is it about, if not revenge?"

Sue looked at the young woman who's eyes were blazing. Sue sighed.

"Beth, it's just this simple: It's about getting _justice."_

Beth nodded. Playtime was over. It was time to do something, that _meant_ something. It was time to stop screwing around.

It was time to say goodbye to Broadway.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

When Beth came back, for a day, it was to officially leave the play. She gathered her things from Shelby's house, and she left the play. She didn't see anyone in the cast, Rachel, or Quinn; Shelby chose to honor her request for total privacy. Most importantly, she didn't see Lea.

She returned to school and there was no question: she was a _different_ person.

Before, in her collegiate career, she was a happy-go-lucky freshman; she returned, very different, and with the focus of a sniper. At first, people assumed it was her focus from returning from a hit Broadway show; but soon people who knew her before and after realized that wasn't it at all. In fact, she rarely mentioned the play. She changed her major from Special Education to a double major in Biochemistry and Political Science. Her nightlife habits changed drastically; she withdrew her bid for her grandmothers' sorority, much to their chagrin given her newfound celebrity status. She went out only occasionally, and other than working out like a maniac, she was generally in the library.

The Beth that appeared on Broadway was long forgotten. And the diminutive brunette that turned her head, buried away. Beth rarely thought of Lea, on purpose. She found that it was too painful, and unnecessarily distracting. Besides, she had immersed herself into becoming "Mrs. Co-Star's fiancée" anyway.

Beth didn't have time for silly distractions. Regardless of the occasional nagging of her heart…

When she took her MCAT's her junior year, she aced them; and when she was accepted, early decision, into Harvard Medical School, she didn't even take a day off to celebrate. Her classmates called her "The Robot," and would groan when she entered the room on the first day of classes, because it meant the curve was blown.

Eventually, she did reconnect with her family, of sorts. She talked to Rachel sporadically, Shelby weekly, and oddly, _Quinn_ every other day. Occasionally she talked to some of her cast mates from the play. Oddly, the person she did NOT speak to, however, _not once,_ was Lea.

She didn't know what to say.

And, Lea was a painful reminder of her taking her eye off the prize. She blamed herself for being self centered and so..._wrapped_ up in what "felt good," with Lea, that she missed the warning signs of what happened, or what was happening, with her best friend. That would never happen again...not on her watch.

It's not that she blamed Lea; rationally, she knew that would be unfair. But she blamed herself, for what _she_ became, when she was with Lea.

She forgot what was important. She forgot her best friend. All for what? To be someone's dirty secret?

Quinn and Sue were talking frequently around this time, primarily because Quinn was trying to recruit Sue for a position she had created, with the former Cheerio coach specifically in mind. Beth would inevitably come up.

"Governor Sylvester." Quinn said in salutation, over the phone.

"Mrs. Berry."

Quinn laughed. "How are you?"

"Okay, Q, let's cut the crap. How's my Beth doing? She hasn't returned my calls in a couple of days. That mother of hers is worthless now as a source of information ever since she turned into a MILF...so what's going on?"

"What? Really? She didn't tell you?" Said Quinn, distracted by Sue's colorful vernacular, "I thought you'd be the first to know, certainly before me! Well, it appears she is heading, early decision, to the most difficult medical school in the country next summer."

Quinn heard a hoot in the background. "That's my little firecracker!"

Q waited for Sue to calm down. "Y'know, Sue, while I never knew Beth as well as you while she was growing up, I will say – this is _odd._ Odd! She definitely has the mind for medicine…no question. But she never really had an interest in patients, as I recall. She wasn't a real...sciencey person. I saw her more as a lawyer or in advertizing or something. In fact, didn't you tell me she fainted in Cheerios once at the sight of blood?"

"Yes, Q, you did. A toaster to you for picking up on that little fact. Since you're _finally_ cluing in, Q, I'm relieved that marriage hasn't_ totally_ softened your brain. Think about Beth. Haven't you noticed a more, oh, I don't know….a singular focus? Like a young Q, back in the day, when she was in hot pursuit of that Midget tonsil case in glee club wanting to get all up in that New Direction stink?"

"Well, Um, I would say I _have_ noticed a determined focus, about her, Coach. She's definitely…focused. But, Sue, if she's not going to Med School for the reasons of public service and patient care, then...why?"

"She's going to med school," Sue said, conspiratorially, "to **_take care of business, _**Quinn."

**XOXOXOXOXO**

Lea walked onto the set, to hear a rowdy rendition of "_They Call Me Doctor Love_" being screeched into the phone by some of the cast members who had been in "Shell Collector" before returning to their TV show, finally off hiatus. She wasn't intentionally eavesdropping, really; but she wanted to observe what was happening, unencumbered. People sometimes clammed up around her when talking about Beth...or_ to_ Beth; she frankly didn't want any more of their pity looks today.

"Bitch, congrats!"

"God, Beth, are you going to associate with us stupid dumbfucks now that you're at that snooty school in Boston?"

Demi Lovato shouted, "I want mouth to mouth resuscitation! You're, like, _super hot_ in your pictures!"

Everyone burst out into laughter and started singing some repulsive rap song while Lea watched them from the sidelines, quietly. A figure moved next to Lea, and put a comforting arm around her.

"Oh! ** Shit!** Jenna, you_ scared the shit_ outta me!"

"Then perhaps you shouldn't be skulking around in the background, _spying,_ Lea."

"I wasn't spying!"

Jenna arched her eyebrows, as if to say, 'Really, bitch? I've known you for, like, twenty years.' Instead, she gently said, "What do you want to know, Lea?"

_"I don't want_ to know-" She was cut short by her friend's eyes, who knew her so well. "Okay, fine. Are they talking about Beth?"

"Doctor Beth. Yes, they are."

"I take it she got into medical school, then."

Jenna laughed. "You could say that. She got into Harvard Med. She starts this summer! She's, like, _kinda smart_, that one."

"Yes, she is." Said Lea, agreeing sadly.

Lea was never good at hiding pain, especially from rejections of anytime, not even when she was little. Jenna knew the look before her. She wrapped the little girl up in a hug , and rubbed her back. "I'm so sorry, Lea. It's _her_ loss."

"Yes, it is."

"Shall we walk onto set?"

"Yep. Let's do it."

**XOXOXOXOXO**

It killed Lea, absolutely killed her, that she had to get news about Beth's life from other people..._random_ people. Not that she wasn't glad it was Jenna who told her; she had been very kind. No, what upset Lea in that moment, was that it should have been _her._ She should be the first to hear news of this magnitude. She should be the one to know this; the one who told everyone else. Definitely_ not_ the last to hear, that was for sure.

Then she felt it again, that choking loneliness feeling in the pit of her stomach, when she remembered that Beth... _wasn't hers._ Then, generally, the feelings would be followed by the lingering doubt and question of if she ever_ really was_ hers, in the first place.

This loneliness was the motivation behind Lea starting to dating Mr. Co-Star in the first place. She didn't want to be lonely anymore. She didn't want to be sad, and afraid. She was so devastated, it was nice to have the distraction.

Lord knows, he was a distraction.

The sex wasn't awful, but it wasn't great. It was just kind of there. But he was doting, and attentive, and they made a great photo opportunity together. Very few people could actually see that the wheels were coming off the train even before it got out of the station. Hollywood loved their golden love story, since very few follow Broadway, most people hadn't heard about Beth and Lea's hook up in the first place.

Lea felt it, felt the _choking agony_. She clenched her eyes shut, and went to her "boyfriend's" trailer.

"Oh, Hi, Babe!" He said, not looking up from Call of Duty.

"I need you to have sex with me. Right now." She said, grimly.

He looked startled. "Oh, um, okay...I'm almost done with this guy."

Lea undressed, and waited on his couch, until his character was finally shot by a sniper bullet. He didn't notice the dead look in her eyes; he didn't recognize her patented "_Oh-oh-oh-yes_-right there! _You're so good!_" sex talk that was not exactly ringing with sincerity; nor did he catch the fact she massaged her own clit while he entered her, closing her eyes, imagining that it was in fact a certain lithe blonde entering her, _over and over_...

It wasn't until she would call up the images from the past summer and fall, of their bodies, lying naked together, rubbing intimately, that would ultimately get her off. Thinking of how her blonde hair would spill across her face, chest, arms and her breathy moans, that could _finally_ enable her to come, as she impaled herself on her "boyfriend's" dick. She would imagine running her hands through the wavy blonde hair, feeling _her_ nipples, _her_ curves, and remember how _her_ body made Lea's own channel slick.

Those memories enabled Lea to bounce, sliding easily on and off his dick; and he was oblivious, just happy to be inside her. He dutifully shot his load into the condom buried deep inside her.

"Oh, _fuck_, that was good. Did you come, Lea?"

"Of_ course_, I did..." She was grateful he didn't hear her call out Beth's name instead of his, so wrapped up in his own situation that he wasn't paying attention.

"Good." Sliding his flaccid penis out of her, he re-dressed. "Shall we go get some lunch?"

"Sure, lets do it. Let me just go clean up in the bathroom, first."

"Um, 'kay. Meet you outside." He kissed her on the left temple.

She shut the door behind her, and locked it behind her. She sat down on the toilet seat, and she cried.

Tears for a woman that she was _sure_ had forgotten her.

Tears for a life she had that she didn't want.

Tears for a future that would never be.

She cried until she had no more tears. Then, she cleaned her face, and prepared to go to lunch.

**TBC.**


	12. I Feel No Pain

**Story: I'm Not Your Rebound.**

**Pairings: ** Beth Corcoran/Lea Michele; Rachel/Quinn; Lea and a previous cast member; Beth and multiple ladies in the hospital.

**Rating**: K+ to M-ish

**Disclaimer:** I don't own this, HBO, Glee, the real or imagined people on the show (a la Lea Michele, Demi Lovato). All for good clean non profit fun.

**A/N:** Sorry for the angst. Yes, I wish they'd get their shit together, too. Life isn't always like that though.

**Chapter: I Feel No Pain.**

Beth arrived to the hospital earlier than anyone else, even though she was no longer an intern.

Arriving at Oh-Dark-Thirty, she could glean which patients were going south, and the night nurses always knew. They had unbelievable instincts, and they tended to like Beth. She was no bullshit. She wasn't there to be their friend, she wasn't smug, like the other over privileged baby doctors; and she was quite honest about what she knew, and what she didn't know.

She had amazing instincts, and _nerves of steel_.

She had won over even the most die-hard battle axe nurses after one particularly gritty code, in which the senior resident was useless, and she pushed him out of the way to get the airway.

"_You can't tube this guy_ with a 6.0, moron! He's had three head and neck cancers!" Beth said, incredulously. "He has adhesions everywhere. If we can't get a 2.5, we have to trach him!"

"Where are we going to get a 2.5? That's a neonatal tube, Corcoran, duh!"

"Did you actually say 'duh?' Get out of the way." She said, pulling a 2.5 out of her back pocket and unwrapping it out of the sterile dressing. She held the laryngoscope and threaded the tube, blindly. She listened for bilateral breath sounds.

"Pull back a 1/2 inch, doc." The battle axe said.

She did. She heard the equal breath sounds, and sighed in relief. She was in...and not just in the airway.

Indeed, Beth Corcoran went from another pretty face to a colleague the seasoned nursing staff regarded as _someone they could trust_. And her legend would grow, with the tube being pulled from her sock in one telling, from her hair clip in another, until it was out of thin air in one telling. The legend of Beth Corcoran would grow, and she seemed to be on the ultimate track for Chief Resident.

All those extra calls she took and the extra time she stayed around to learn how to intubate paid off that night. Mr. John Doe lived. Of course, he would ultimately get a tracheotomy, but he didn't that night.

After having an hour filled with barking meds and calculating doses in her head and pulling out the defib paddles, fucking Mr. John Doe, and his smoking ass, _lived._ After the mountains of paperwork that follows and event such as that, Beth had finally finished, and was ready to go home, well after her shift was over.

A pretty red head looked at her, chuckling. She was one of her favorite respiratory therapists, and had set up the ventt after Beth got the airway. "Want to go to the fistula and get some coffee doc? Can't have you falling asleep on your way home." The RT said, looking at Beth, smiling.

Beth looked down at her watch. In doing so, she noticed one of the rags in the waiting room. Some sort of crappy tabloid, but it was the picture that caught her attention.

"Glee Star Denies Pregnancy Rumors!"

Lea.

_Her_ Lea.

Well, not her Lea. Not anymore.

She took a second look at the red headed, tall therapist. Pretty. Athletic build. Nice tits.

"You know what?" Beth said, flashing a charming grin. "I make a pretty damn good cup of coffee, if you're brave enough to come try it."

The red headed therapist grinned. "I thought you'd never ask."

**XOXOXOXO**

Beth would fuck the RT within an inch of her life that early morning.

All the frustration, all the angst, all the unfairness that she wasn't with the woman she was in love with, _even if it was her own damn fault,_ came pouring out of her; and in an almost punishing manner, the poor redhead got the brunt of it.

She make her come _over and over and over_ again.

She caused the redhead to scream her name; she caused her to scratch her back. She might have bruised her or marked her, a little, she wasn't sure. Beth finally made her pass out in her bed.

She regretted very much that she brought her home to her house; there was no tactful way to discretely leave, when it was her house.

So_ Beth_ left.

She went walking around Boston for awhile, along the Charles. She ran her hands through her hair, thinking about how the beginning of summer really was the best time of year in New England...beaches, clambakes, and brunettes...yeah. She thought of how much she liked that coloring on a woman. The sensuous curves of an Italian; the softness of their lips, the deep way they would...

Fuck.

_She was doing it again._ She sighed. _Will I ever stop thinking about her? _ Beth wondered. It didn't matter how many women she slept with, good, bad, or indifferent; she seemed unable to get a _certain_ woman out of her head.

No matter how hard she tried to fuck her memory away, her heart had other ideas.

The redhead was one of many in the hospital that had the pleasure of being one of Beth's one night stands; it wasn't just her skills as a doctor that had become urban legend. There was an unspoken roster of women that wanted to get on the Beth Corcoran list; the problem was, it was always one and done. She was honest about that right from the start. After one amazing night being serviced like there was no tommorrow, you were expected to get the fuck out of her bed. She didn't do relationships.

The redhead was walking out when Beth was walking back in.

"So..." She said tentatively.

"See you around at work." Beth said, briskly.

"I hear you don't do relationships."

"You heard correctly."

"Or second rounds?"

"Nope. Too close to a relationship."

The redhead shook her head. "I'd like to know who fucked you up so bad. You have a lot going for you, Beth Corcoran. Are you telling me you don't want - even a little bit - to wake up in the morning, wrapped up in someone you love?"

She thought she saw a fleeting look of _something_ across Beth's face.

"Nope. Too messy."

The redhead nodded sadly. "Well, see you around, Beth. You were amazing, by the way."

"Thanks."

"Let me know if you change your mind about your stance - I'd like to get to know you better."

"You know me well enough. Besides, I'm a mess. An emotional liability. Go on your way and have your 2.5 kids with someone normal, and a happy life."

The RT nodded, and turned to walk down the hall.

"It was an actress." Beth said quietly.

The redhead slowly turned around, surprised, looking back at the young doctor. "An actress?"

"Yes. Who fucked me up. But..." Beth trailed off.

The RT briefly stepped back, retracting her previous steps. Gently, as though to not scare off the skittish colt, she interjected neutrally, "My sister is an actress. She tells me _all the time_ how self absorbed the industry is. You have to really know yourself, and know who you are to survive."

Beth snorted. "That's an understatement."

She felt a gentle hand on her cheek. The woman was pulling her chin up to force her to look up at her.

"Maybe this woman...this actress...just isn't that strong, Beth. Not everyone is as strong as you are, lady. That industry does weird things to people. You know, that doesn't make her a _bad_ person, though, and it _certainly_ doesn't mean she didn't love you, for whatever you had together. Know this: Beth Corcoran, you are an _amazing_ person. I see you do kind things, and amazing things, every day. You're** so** driven..._so smart_...and you're so, _so_ pretty. Its her loss, trust me."

Beth looked at her skeptically.

"I _mean_ it, Beth. Look, I'm not even gay. Until today, I wouldn't have identified as bisexual, even!" Beth's jaw dropped open. The redhead laughed. "I know, _I know!_ But... I wanted you. I wanted to be with you. I had the best sex of my entire life...and you _are all that_ and a bag of chips. Trust me, its her loss."

"Earlier, I mentioned a 'but,' you remember," Beth said, slowly. "I bring it up again, because even though_ yes, she did fuck me up,_ I take full responsibility for the fact it was because of ME that we were so... fucked up. I guess... I mean, its my fault."

The redhead looked at her gently. "Nothing is ever_ completely_ one person's fault, Beth. That's just not how life is."

"God, I thought you were a respiratory therapist, not a mental health therapist."

The red headed beauty laughed. "Well, you spend a lot of time with patients over and over in a stay. You become familiar. They confide things in you...It's kind of implied you become their mini-health counselor. Plus, my sister plays a therapist of sorts, I hear her say this shit all the time!"

"You're okay, straight girl. And...thanks for the talk. But for the record, so we're clear, there's still no-"

"_Second date_. Yeah, I got it. I'll see you later."

They gave each other a friendly peck and went on their way. Beth thought,_ maybe in a different life, and if she weren't straight...I kinda like her. No drama. No bullshit. Nice body. Smart Head. If only..._

If only she wasn't hopelessly lost, already.

**XOXOXOXOX**

"Hey, Jeyma, you look a little pale." The charming actor, reprising his role as an enthusiastic teacher for their sixth season, noted as he sat down, next to his red headed co-star.

"I do? Sorry. It's just, um, I found out my baby sister just had sex - _a lot of sex_- with a woman!"

_"OOOHhhh!_" Said Demi, a relatively recent cast addition. "A lot of sex? My favorite kind! ** Details**, Details!" She demanded, as she peeled a tangerine. Even though she started with occasional guest starring roles, the public loved her, and she kept being brought back. She was spunky, and well liked by the group. Which was kind of a small miracle...it was not an easy cast to break into. Plus, she had spent one hiatus working on "The Shell Collector" which it seemed like half the cast did, as well, and it fast tracked Demi into the present cast, as though she had been a regular all along.

"I don't know any details. I mean, its some hot blonde physician in the Boston area that she works with. She said _"mind blowing sex"_, which I can't imagine, as she is really, _really_ straight laced! We went to Catholic school, for Heaven's sake! Apparently, this woman is quite the legend in the hospital, and she, um, wanted to confirm the rumors."

"Your sis ain't _that_ straight laced, apparently." Interjected Chris.

"Wow, I want to meet the girl that can turn the straight ladies gay!" Chirped the bland new blonde replacement cheerleader, which everyone promptly ignored. Refer to the "break in" commentary...not so easy.

Lea's stomach dropped, overhearing the conversation at the next table_. Surely, there were multiple hot blonde lesbian doctors in Boston, right?_ She forced herself to smile at her now fiancee, and grip his hand in hers, and hope no one saw through this. The groups all soon broke up, parting for different scenes, and she headed to her trailer, stopping by to read the day's call list first on the community bulletin board.

"Heyyyyy,_ sexy._" A familiar voice said, in Lea's ear.

"Demi? Oh... Hi."

"Got a minute?"

"Sure."

"Let's have our minute involve the crafts table...I think much better with coffee this early in the morning."

"Careful. I have a theory they lace it with crack."

Demi laughed, her throaty laugh. She stirred her coffee, and took a minute to speak. "Look, Lea, I know I'm the new kid around here, but I'm gonna say it - what the hell happens to you and women? No one will talk about what happened with the original HBIC character and you...and she's like, not in any scenes anymore. I loved her character!"

Lea was tight lipped. "She has chosen to pursue other interests, I believe."

"Uh-huh," Demi said, disbelieving. "And _you and Beth_? Like, what the fuck, Lea? You two were _good._ I mean, really good. I know true love when I see it," Demi said, taking a swig of her crack coffee. "And now, you're like, permanently affixed to Frankenteen-twentysomething. Which, I have to ask: Is your vagina, like_, __ el triángulo de las Bermudas**...**_you know, the Bermuda Triangle for women?"

Lea spit out her crack coffee. "What?" She asked incredulously.

"Like, women go into it, never to be seen or heard from again...sounds like _the Bermuda Triangle_ to me!"

Lea laughed, in spite of herself. Demi joined in with her smoky, throaty laugh, because, well, she was Demi.

"Beth left **me**, Demi. Not the other way around. And I would appreciate, if you don't mind, keeping that on the down low. You know, what happens on Broadway, stays on Broadway?"

Demi looked at her evenly. "Are you _ashamed_ of your relationship with Beth?"

Lea looked uncomfortable. "No." She said, quickly.

"Cause... you_ sound_ like you are."

"I'm not." She said curtly.

"Well, shit, I'm gonna shut up, since I don't want to go missing as well..." Demi chuckled. But after a moment, she was uncharacteristically serious again. "Look, Lea, again, it's not my place to say, but people won't say it to your face. I kinda know you now, even in ways _this group_ doesn't know you. I know what you were like when you were actually _happy_ and _in love._ You were that way when we did "Shell Collector," with **Beth.** You were, Lea. Happy."

"It was lightning in a bottle. Great show, Tony award, I worked with my hero...what's_ not_ to be happy about?"

"Okay, fine. Deny deny deny, _Fine._ But let me say this: pretending that you're in love, now, and trying to convince yourself of it, it is only going to hurt everyone. Including Frankeenteen Finnept."

"You sound like Santana Lopez."

"She has hilarious nicknames for all of us."

"I bet."

"Don't divert. And you know what? There's something weird about him, Lea. I can't put my finger on it, but I grew up in the music industry, not television. I have a different perspective, and there's a lot more bad shit, all out in the open, in that line of work. I_ know_ when something up..."

"This isn't any of your business, Demi." Lea said, with a warning tone.

"Who are you kidding, Lea?"

"Whom." She corrected.

"For Christs Sake -God! I want you to remember this moment, Lea. I _tried_ to be a friend to you. A real friend. And you _chose_ to ignore what I had to say. This is going to come back and bite you in the ass, someday. But you can't say someone didn't warn you...because I just did."

"Thanks for the coffee, Demi." Lea said, lightly, collecting her stuff. "Let's do it again sometime. See you at rehearsal." The small brunette got up and walked towards her trailer, walking with straightened shoulders, and not glancing back.

It wasn't until she got inside that she broke down, and cried.

_Again._

**TBC.**


	13. I FeelNothing

**Story: I'm Not Your Rebound**

**Characters:** Lea Michele/Beth Corcoran, Lea/Male Cast Member, Beth/Anything that Moves

**Rating: M  
**

**Disclaimers:** Don't own Glee, Lea Michele, the characters of Glee, Texas, etc. All for good clean non profit fun.

**A/N: **Yes, they are living lives of quiet desperation. Sorry.

**Chapter: I Feel.._.Nothing._**

Lea held on to his back.

God, why did she let him top her? He practically suffocated her, he was so huge. At least, when she mounted him, she could control the pace, the timing...there was some hope that she would at least be able to come, if she rubbed her clit hard enough, and was a little drunk. Now, pressed underneath him, she had no control, and he had no skill.

It was a bad combination.

**XOXOXOXOX**

Beth held on to her back.

God, why did she let her top her with a dildo, for God's sake? She was practically suffocating her, and she picked a dildo that was way too huge. Beth didn't like to be penetrated, she liked_ to do_ the penetrating. At least, when she topped women and went first, she could control the pace, the timing...she could work herself up enough that she would at least be able to come, when it was her turn, if she rubbed her clit hard enough, and was a little drunk. Now, pressed underneath the tall visiting nurse from Texas Children's, she had no control, and she-frankly-had no skill.

It was a bad combination.

**XOXOXOXOX**

The brunette did her usual patented fake moans.

"Are you close, Lea?" He grunted, sweating unnaturally.

At least he could get it up, this time, Lea mused. "Oh, yeah, baby, I'm so close. Come for me now!"

She didn't want him to try to get her off, because _he wouldn't._ It would be best if he just finished and got off her, and thought he had taken care of business. She felt a little bad for faking it so much, but hey...she was an actress. And she had an Emmy and a Tony to prove she was a good one.

**XOXOXOXOX**

The blond did her usually hollow words of encouragement.

"Are you close, Beth?" The nurse grunted, sweating unnaturally. "This vibrator is right on my clit and I'm going to cum, it's so hot watching it pound into you, tell me you're close, too?" The nurse started murmuring "Oh, oh, _oh fuck_..."

Beth was glad the Texan's eyes were closed, because she was rolling hers.

"Oh, yeah, baby, I'm so close." Beth said, faking it."Come for me now!"

The nurse's body convulsed with her orgasm, and Beth was relieved. She didn't want her to try to get her off, because s_he wouldn't._ It would be best if she just finished and got off her, and thought she had taken care of business. Beth would take care of herself later, after she evacuated the apartment the Texan had rented for the summer. She felt a little bad for faking it so much, but hey...she was an actress. And she had equity points from a Tony-award winning play prove she was a good one.

**XOXOXOXOX**

Lea listened to the sounds of him snoring. Since they moved in together, it was hard to escape, to get away; to cry when she needed to cry.

She still thought about her, every day. Every day, she could remember the feel of Beth's body underneath her fingers; what it felt like to be wrapped up in her; she trembled. And then she did what she usually did...

She cried.

**XOXOXOXOX**

Beth listened for the sounds of her falling into deep slumber. She made her break for it.

There were less and less women left for her to woo, it was getting hard to escape, and to not bump into her former one night stands. But she needed them, these anonymous fucks...they were the only thing keeping her from crying...all the time. _ A doctor can't be that weak,_ she reasoned to herself. She still thought about her, every day. Every day, she could remember the feel of Lea's body underneath her fingers; what it felt like to be wrapped up in her; and she trembled. And then she did what she did in an atypically unguarded moment...

She cried.


	14. Endings, and Beginnings

**Chapter: Endings, and Beginnnings...**

Truth be told, she _knew_ what Demi had told her was true. All of it, it was all true.

There was indeed something off, as Demi predicted in her euphamatic manner, but they -the entire family-didn't talk about it. No one talked about it. The producers looked the other way, initially, because he was functional at work. His extracurricular activities didn't interfere with the "product," and he was remarkably discreet. And frankly, he was very well behaved in the States; what with Lea, the show, his life; there was no place for it in his life here. It wasn't until he went home that there was...badness. Temptation. All his old triggers. Lea wouldn't go home with him anymore, it was just too hard. She tried to focus her efforts on keeping him sober when he was back in California.

And frankly, her heart just wasn't in it any more. The problem with addicts is that they become_ liars._ Sometimes they don't even realize the degree to which they are even lying- they don't want to be blamed; they don't want to feel guilty; they are tired of being regarded as the next failure instead of the daily success it takes to get up and stay sober each and every day. He was tired of being judged a failure, Lea was tired of the inevitability of being told another lie; so, she learned to stop asking. He learned to stop telling. Problem solved.

Their relationship was nothing more than a distraction, a way for them to feel like they might be "normal." He wasn't struggling with his demons, she wasn't struggling with hers. They were with each other, and in love.

_On the surface._

On some subconsious level, the fact he was so focused on other things, either staying sober, or not staying sober, was actually attractive to her; it meant he wasn't paying as much attention to her and her behavior. He wasn't the only one who didn't want to feel judged, after all. Plus, he never knew about her - ahem - sapphic dalliances, and she suspected he wouldn't like them very much.

Plus, there was the important fact that she liked taking care of him; it made her feel _needed._

She never felt needed with Beth, and that scared her.

When he died, alone, at home, Lea cried. Genuinely. She felt guilty. She should have loved him more. She should have loved Beth less.

She should have been there. But...she wasn't his mother. She was his _girlfriend- slash-_ fiance. She mourned so much...the loss of her only real friend left who was also her boyfriend; she mourned the loss of a good, kind hearted soul that was just so...lost. She should have done more, despite the gratitude of his family. She didn't do enough, and they kept thanking her. Her, the girl that had a secret. The girl that had given her heart away to someone else, and had nothing left for him.

Was that why he did it? _Did he know?_

The murmurs of "He loved you so much," from his family did nothing to help assuage her guilt. Everyone rallied around her, and even Rachel had come for the funeral, to support Lea, and Rachel and Quinn were both by her side.

It had been a month since the funeral.

Despite the passing of time since then, she still_ hated_ herself. She hated that she was secretly relieved, on some level, to be done with this charade. She hated that a decent man was dead. She hated that she could have done more - although, she didn't know what; she just should have done _something._

She hated that she wasn't appropriately saddened. She hated that she was sad, all the time.

Most of all, her hatred towards herself was centered on one thing: she hated that she _couldn't stop_ loving Beth.

**XOXOXOXOXOXO**

The tree they planted in the show was based on a real tree that the cast had planted for him, overlooking the beach. No one talked about it to the press, it was done very discretely; some crazy fan would likely dig that damn tree up, for sure, had it become public information. Lea found herself going there, to talk to him, almost every day. About one hundred days later, after the pit of despair had lifted, a little bit, she found herself making some promises to him.

She _promised_ to be a better friend to him.

She _promised_ to be strong enough to be truthful for, _had she been true to herself_, she believed she wouldn't have led him on just for the purposes of "not being alone." Maybe he would still be alive, maybe not. But she would not make that mistake again.

She _promised_ to love only if she could love unconditionally.

She _promised_ that in seeking to go forward, she would not disrespect her past. Whispering to him, she clarified, "I did love you, I promise. I think...I wasn't in love with you, but I promise you that I did, in fact, love you."

One day, in her pilgrimage to the tree, she noticed that she didn't feel quite so heavy anymore.

She thought_, maybe he's forgiven me..._

She also noticed something else, on this visit to his tree. She noticed the small, very symmetrically planted evergreen shrubs that flanked the tree. The leaves of the shrubs were broad and a dark green with an leathery texture, but very glossy and ornamental. It registered with her, when she notices the first small budding flower on the shrub; it was a solitary flower that had a very distinct smell. It was a beautiful white flower.

_A gardenia._

The irony was not lost on her, and she laughed. "What are you trying to tell me, honey? That its always been about the blonde?" She recalled the famous episode they filmed in season three with the infamous gardenia corsage.

She looked out to the beach, where people were starting to arrive. A middle aged couple was unloading what looked like two tiny dogs that out of a pick up truck to let them play on the beach.

She smiled as she watched them hold hands.

"See that? They've probably been married forever, and they're still holding hands. I want that." She cleared her throat. "I have something to tell you, honey. A few summers back, when I did that show on Broadway? Well, I fell in love. Hopelessly in love. Her name is Beth Corcoran. She's Quinn's real daughter and Rachel's adopted sister – weird, huh? They were at your funeral, remember? Anyway, I think…well. I think that's why I was never able to give myself to you 100% - and I'm sorry. What I did was wrong, and selfish."

The two puppies were running like crazy barking at the waves, but always side by side. They would look back at their owners, making sure it was okay.

"But I promise you this: I promise not to do that again. I promise to love with only my whole heart. I promise that I will make this right by you – and I also promise that I will never let anyone disrespect you, or forget you, ever. And I promise that your mom will always be taken care of; I know you worry about that. That's a guarantee."

She started walking towards the dogs, after she gave the tree a kiss, and smelled the gardenia one last time. The puppies, sensing her, came barreling straight for her, barking their heads off. When they got to her, they were a blur of wagging butts, licking tongues, and excited fawn pups.

The woman was first to arrive, very apologetic. "I'm so sorry, Miss, they're pups. Did they get you dirty? I have a towel **ohmygod**….you're _Lea Michele!_ Ohmigod, _Ohmigod!_ Honey! Come here!"

The husband dutifully obliged.

"It's _Lea Michele!_" She said, pointing to the amused brunette.

"Who's Lea Michele?" He asked.

She looked at him like he had five heads.

Lea offered, "I'm on a television show, that's all. By the way, I love these pups!"

"I'm sorry, Miss, I don't watch T.V."

"I don't either." She concurred.

"I like you already." He chuckled. "That one there,"He said, thumbing over to his wife, "loves the idiot box. But I love her anyway, despite the obvious flaw."

The pugs were now sitting on Lea's feet.

"I think they like you."

"I like them."

"They're for sale, if you're interested. They're the last of the litter, we've had a hard time selling them."

"Why?" Lea asked, scratching their fawn-colored backs.

"Well, they're the runts, for one thing. Secondly, they're kind of abnormally attached, we didn't really want to break them up, and people just aren't in the market for two. They're our profit margin, though, so I think we might have to." He said, sounding genuinely sad. He petted the pups affectionately.

"We even brought down the price to $800 apiece." His wife chimed in.

"No takers, huh? Do you run a kennel, or something?"

"Yup, and we also do Pug Rescue of California." He handed her a card.

**M.L.M. Kennels**

Pug Rescue of California

AKC Certified

Butch and Bella Safarti, Owners

"Are you kidding me? Safarti? That's my last name!"

"I thought it was Mabele or something."

"MICHELE." His wife corrected, aggravated. "Lea _Michele_." She huffed.

"Apparently, I've irritated the president of your fan club."

Lea laughed. "It is Safarti. They shortened my name – they thought Safarti sounded too…ethnic."

"Ah. Screw 'em. Forza Italia!" He said with a fist pump.

"I prefer my fathers' reaction: _testa di cazzo!_"

All three laughed.

"So, Butch, How much do you want for them?"

Butch looked at her warily. "Weellll, um. Listen, if you're a busy single actress type, these might not be the dogs for you, Miss Safarti. Yes, we'd love to sell them, but Pugs think that they're human. Like, people. They need lots of attention."

Lea laughed. "Don't worry. I'll have help. I plan on having a physician help me."

"A nurse would be better, actually, in my experience. Well, actually, a responsible ten year old would be the absolute best. We don't usually place dogs unless there's someone in the home with them during the day for Pug Rescue, for example…"

Lea looked at him incredulously. "I wonder why these little guys didn't sell. Are you _sure_ you want to sell them?"

He turned beet red.

His wife interjected. "He's very attached to these two. He turned down a family who had a cat and another who had a smoker."

Lea laughed. "I wish Department of Child Services was as demanding as you."

"No **shit**." He said with an unexpected passion.

"Oh, sorry. Did I touch a nerve?"

Bella looked at Lea and answered. "Butch is a police officer. 24 years on the force. He does child protection cases, actually. DCF is definitely a sore topic with him-its kind of a dirty word in our house hold."

He flashed his badge. "That's why we started doing the dog business. I love dogs. I had to do something that wasn't making me crazy on the side. Plus, I'm getting too old to moonlight on the side."

"Say no more." Lea nodded, understanding. "Well, if its any consolation, I plan on having puppy Q and puppy Short Stack come to work with me, everyday. I will have a bed in my trailer and a play space for them. I'll walk them every day and I have a yard that's fenced in. They'll get lots of love, I promise. But, how 'bout this: you come do a visitation in say, three weeks, and if you don't like what you see, give me half my money back and we'll call it even."

She finished writing the check and handed it over to him.

His eyes popped. "Um, this is a mistake, I think. You wrote it out for five thousand dollars."

"_What?_" Screeched his wife.

"You are correct. I did." Lea said, closing her purse. "And its not a mistake."

"I can't do that, that's taking advantage"

She hushed him. "You can and _you will_. So, Butch, if you can cut the umbilical cord, I'll have my manager call you and set up a visit for the 'home inspection,' and you can send the papers to the address on the check."

She gathered up the pups in her arms who were licking her face.

"I have some toys and stuff in the truck, want em? And some trainer pads, and stuff."

"Great, let's go!"

Bella stood, frozen in place. "A home visit?" She murmured, in disbelief.

"Well…sort of. I thought you could come visit the dogs….**_on set_**. We're back to filming again." Lea winked at Butch. "If you don't mind coming to the set, that is."

He chucked.

"_On set_?" She repeated, weakly.

He slapped her on the back. "You're all right, Safarti. Come, let's go get your crap and get you set up. What did you say you were calling them?"

"Q and Short Stack."

"Different, but okay. That one there," he said pointing at the smaller one, who was presently yipping her commentary, "should be short stack. She's feisty."

"Got it covered, Butch."

"That one watches and keeps an eye on the smaller one." He said, gesturing at Q.

Lea laughed. "That sounds about right."

After a few moments, they finished transferred all the pups stuff, and Lea drove home with her new babies, happier than she had been in a long time. Bella was still slightly catatonic from their encounter. However, she snapped out of it when their phone started ringing off the hook that night.

_"I want some of those puppies!"_

_"Those are the cutest dogs I've ever seen! I want a pair!"_

_"I'll pay whatever you say - I have to have a pair!"_

_"Can you put me on the waiting list?"_

It wasn't until caller sixty that they figured out what happened, when they finally asked one of the zealous callers. Apparentely, Lea had "_tweeted,"_ whatever that meant, a picture of her and the dogs, and posted their all their Kennel contact information on that tweet thing.

Butch laughed. That Safarti kid was A-okay. He knew his dogs were going to be in good hands.

He hoped the doctor, whoever that was, was as good to the little Italian girl as she deserved. He was looking forward to the home inspection for a change, this time.


	15. How To Re-Build Your Dream House

**Story: I Am Not Your Rebound**

**Pairings:** Lea/Beth, Quinn/Rachel

**Rating**: Slow build up to the big M

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Glee. Don't own the real or fake people associated with it i.e. Lea, Demi, Emma. Don't own Tony® or Oscar® or Billy or Bob. Don't own Rick Riordian or Steven Spielberg. Don't own blonde hair dye. This is all for good, clean (or not so clean, as it were) fun.

**A/N:** So, gang: this chapter is a little like groundhog day. But it's done on purpose, and its important to read the parts _you think_ you've read before. Now we're caught up and can get to what happens next. Don't worry, the angst may finally be coming to an end – although with these two, who knows! (Cue dramatic music). I apologize in advance to those of you who haven't read "Shell Collector," there are many references to that story in this chapter, apparently random without the aid of the back-story. Those of you who've read it, I hope you enjoy! _Salut!_

**CHAPTER: How To Re-Build Your Dream Home In Three Easy Steps**

Lea had always been the type that once she made the decision, it was done. Unlike the character she played on television, once she decided, she stopped angsting. The hard part for her was making it. She didn't go back over things, she didn't second-guess herself, she just…executed.

But it had been an awfully long time since she talked to Beth, and she couldn't discount the possibility she might be with someone else now. And unlike many of the sleazebags in Hollywood, she actually had ethics when it came to respecting someone else's relationships. _Shitbags_ cheat. **She** didn't.

Unfortunately, no one would tell her anything about Beth. Not a peep. And she found that odd but she uncharacteristically didn't' push it with her various friends from the play. So, instead, she found herself at a booth, sitting opposite her new BFF with the kind eyes. In exchange for agreeing to sing at the Fraternal Order of the Italian Brotherhood of Police Officers Meeting, an even Butch was in charge of next month, he helped facilitate some "information gathering" about Beth in Massachusetts.

They met for coffee at the diner by the lot early in the morning. He had the file in front of him in a thick folder, which she eagerly grabbed for, and he just as quickly pulled away from her.

"Lea, I've kinda gotten to know you, recently. And you know my wife adores you, right?"

"Yes. Now may I have the folder?"

"Lea, you know, they say, curiosity_ killed the cat-"_

"No, overpopulation did. Now, _can I have the damn folder_, please?"

"Look, Belladonna, let me ask you this: what is it you want to know?"

"Well, is she still single?

"Yes."

"What are you shielding me from?" Lea quickly summed up the situation.

He sighed.

"Lea, I have sat on this end of the booth, many many times. People think they want this information, they do. But at the end of the day, they really, really don't."

"Did she kill someone?"

"No, quite the opposite. As it turns out, she's quite a good doctor. And she's one hell of a good surgeon- she's very good at neutralizing her feelings, it appears. Makes for a good surgeon. Turns out she's been asked to be a Chief Resident, which they tell me has never happened before."

"To have a Chief Resident?"

"No – to have a _female_ Chief Resident, Belladonna. In Boston. At that hospital."

"Oh."

"You know, those qualities that make her able to be a good surgeon – they don't always make for the best qualities in a mate."

"I know. But I'm not worried. So how many were there?"

"What?"

"_Relationships,_ Butch. Relationships! How many women have there been, since me?"

"Those are two different questions."

"Not necessarily."

"In this case, they are."

Lea was getting impatient, and talking to Butch who was being as cryptic as Yoda, was just frustrating her this early in the morning.

"Look, Butch, I have to go to work. What's the bottom line, here?"

"She has not dated anyone since you, Lea."

Lea's relief would be short lived.

"But, she's slept with hundreds of women since you, however."

"I think you meant to say, _dozens of women_. right?"

"No. I said what I meant."

Lea's mouth went dry. She was getting a migraine. "Hundreds?"

"Yep."

He pushed the envelope aside. "When we note behavior like …your friend's, here, honestly, we start looking for patterns of a sexual predator. Either they're using a date rape drug, stealing from their victims, or they're doing something more heinous, like trying to deliberately transmit an STD, or even murder. But that's not what she is, in fact, doing. No, Beth has sex with them and gets the hell out. And she never talks to them, ever again.

"Maybe she's just into the conquest?" Lea offered, sadly.

"It doesn't feel that way to me, actually. It has none of the patterns of that personality type – there's no bragging, no showboating, no mention on social media, whatever that is – she would brag, or at the very least, record it- she doesn't do that."

"Okay, can you sum it up for us non detective types, please? I am now in the 'late' category, here."

"Well, Lea, I'm going out on a limb here without a lot of hard evidence to support me. But, but honestly? My instincts tell me this reeks of a Gorge Jones song – she's nursing a broken heart. And this is the only way she can deal with that pain, you know, from breakin' her heart."

"**Arrgh!** Why does _everyone_ assume I broke _her_ heart? She's the one that left me!"

He looked at her skeptically. "Perhaps, Lea. But I think you need to take a good look at the events surrounding that departure, and ask yourself: _how did I contribute to that?_ Because if you don't understand your culpability, you're destined to make the same mistakes again. History will repeat itself."

Lea was silent, taking in the sage advice the man had given her.

"And Lea? _One more thing_…." He said as he gathered his things, and got up to leave, "I _really_ mean that. If she exhibits this type of atypical -for her- behavior from the _first_ break up of yours, I'm fairly certain she really won't survive a second break-up. So really,_ if you love this girl,_ whom I think you do, you need to do some deep self-reflection around those events. You owe it to her, and to yourself."

He was standing, looking at the small woman with a frown on her face, taking it in.

"Lea? Last chance. Want this?"

She looked abstractly towards him. He was holding the thick envelope.

After a moment, she said firmly, "No. No thank you. I…I don't think I need to see it."

He smiled. "_Good decision_, Belladonna. Take care of yourself, little one. And if she breaks your heart," He said meaningfully, "_you call me_. I'll take care of her."

Lea stood to leave as well, giving the tired, old police officer with the kind eyes a hug, and they made their way out the door.

**XOXOXOXOXOX**

Lea had thought about it. Their best times together were on the stage working on "Shell," obviously. She thought of all the ways she could try to bring them together, to mirror that type of experience, but honestly, they all seemed kind of a stretch.

Beth would sense that immediately.

"Penny for your thoughts." The bottle blonde said to her friend, with her smoky voice.

"That's all they're worth, these days." Lea laughed. "So, Demi – I was thinking about Beth and I. About bringing us together, in some way, like the Shell Collector did. Everything I can think about seems so…contrived. That's not going to work with Beth, without question. Not this time."

Lea looked sad. Demi put a comforting arm on her shoulder, out of reflex. "Lea, Damn it, I am _so proud of you._ I am so proud of your decision to actually pull your head out of your ass, and think about getting back together. It feels right, doesn't it?"

"God, Demi, you were only in the play for like, sixty days or something before Beth left."

"Yeah, but it was an _important _sixty days, Chica. Hasn't Naya ever told you about the Mexican third eye?"

"No, but Santana Lopez did. Many, many, many times."

"_Santana_?" Demi's voice cracked. "I mean, Santana? You know, I kinda liked that girl. She was funny."

"So you've said." Lea said, filing away for later, the interesting and quick blush on Demi's usually unflappable face. Lea continued. "I **need** something, something extended._ Anything. _ So she'll give me a chance. So we can re-build our house, so to speak."

They were silent, lost in their respective thoughts. Then, a broad grin erupted over Demi's face. She snapped her fingers. "Of course, **duh!** _The most obvious thing in the world!"_

"That being…?" Lea asked, quizzically.

"**_'_The Shell Collector!'** Double Duh! _Make it into a movie!"_

Lea's eye widened. "Ohmigod, Demi, that's...that's just_ brilliant!_"

"Thanks!" Demi picked up her prop guitar, and started singing her song from Act One.

"Ugh. _Act I._ " Lea said. Demi looked confused.

"What?"

"Have you ever done a movie, Demi?"

"_Well,_ no. Um, no, I have not."

"The screen – the _celluloid _screen – it not only puts on ten pounds, like television, but it also _puts on ten years._ There's nothing like seeing your face three buildings tall! You can't hide a thing. "

"_Supernose_!" Chanted Demi. Looking at the death glare from Lea, she said, "Oh, sorry, I was channeling Santana there, for a hot sec."

Ignoring her comment, Lea thought. "I'd never get away with playing a sixteen-seventeen year old girl, these days. And Beth looks like some grizzled surgeon these days from Grey's Anatomy. She's aged, like twenty years in two!"

"Hey, what about me?" Demi asked.

Lea looked at her and pursed her lips. She was thinking …her wheels were turning. Her eyes widened, suddenly. Slapping Demi's arm, she said, "But Act II? The college years?"

Demi smiled back. "We could _totally _pull that shit off!" They laughed, and then spontaneously broke out into the closing number for Act II, the famous curtain closer.

Their newly dyed-blonde guest star walked past. Emma, who was practically Hollywood royalty, given her pedigree, had been brought in for a four-episode arc, as a the star member from McKinley's rival glee club. The cast was looking forward to a little new blood being pumped into the show…they had gotten into quite a rut, of late. She was brought in to kill the rut, and expectations were high.

Hearing the chorus from "Shell Collector," she joined in, and started singing, flawlessly. They finished, laughing, and all gave each other high-fives.

"Wow, _not bad_, Emma!" Lea praised.

"I, like, totally _loved_ that show! " She said, enthuastically. "It was the first thing I saw when I turned twenty one!"

Skeptically, Demi remarked, "I was in a _bar_ when I turned twenty one."

"Yeah, well, I'm a New York native. Thus, I'm a kind of a Broadway nerd. But we did go to a bar _afterward_."

The Latina nodded her understanding. "Emma, _BTW..._" Demi said, "…nice _hair._ Since when did you go blonde?"

Emma screwed up her face, obviously displeased. "Ryan asked me to do it. Seems he has a thing for…."

"…making the villains_ blondes_." Lea finished. "I know. Weird penchant, huh?"

"_Ay dios mios!_ Some mean blonde girl must have tormented him in high school."

"For reals." Emma interjected. "_God._ I hate this color on me. I swore I wouldn't ever do it again, after "We're The Millers." It totally ruined my hair!"

Nodding in solidarity, Demi agreed. "Hey, at least you're hair isn't naturally black, sister." Pointing to her own, she said, "_My hair's_ gonna fall out when my run is over, here. _Hey_! You been practicing your bitch stance?"

Lea had been silent, watching this little exchange pepper between her two castmates. A sneaky smile had slowly crept across her face, as she **again** realized what was right before her eyes. Her ability to maneuver the universe has just suddenly blossomed, as Rachel had cryptically promised her it would, someday during one of their illicit smoke breaks.

Interrupting their banter, she said, "_Emma._ What are you doing this summer, when this show goes on hiatus? You got anything lined up, yet?"

She screwed up her face. "Well, my agent has got dumb summer teen romance one and _even dumber_ summer teen romance two that he's presented to me. I swear...I'm _going_ to fire him. He's, like, my dad's old agent."

"Hm. Problem number one." Demi concurred. "You need your_ aunt's_ agent."

Emma snorted. "Make no mistake. My aunt has someone she pays, but she's her _own _agent."

"Hence, her Oscar on the mantle." Demi pointed out.

Interjecting, Lea asked in an oddly influential tone, "Emma...would you ever consider doing the movie version of _'Shell Collector?_'" A flash of realization crossed Demi's face, and she nodded to Lea.

"Holy shit, yes!"Effused Emma, clapping. "_There's going to be a movie?_ That's awesome! That's so fucking awesome!"

Demi glanced around, looking for eavesdroppers. Pulling the young actress in close, she whispered. "_Shhh!_ Top secret. Maybe there is, _maybe there isn't._ We don't talk too loudly, about this, around here. Ryan hates that play. Hates, hates, _hates_! He almost didn't hire me for_ this_ show because of my affiliation with it!"

Emma's eyes widened. "But it was _so good!_ And half of his cast was in it!"

"_Hence the problem._ Same cast, yet massive critical acclaim and box office. Would you like the comparison?"

Emma nodded her head, finally getting it. She added, "Plus, the heroine was a_ blonde_."

Demi snorted.

"So, how'd you convince him to let you on?" Emma asked.

"Well," she said, lowly. "For one, I was already under contract to Fox. That helped. But make no mistake..._that one_ over there," Demi said, gesturing towards Lea, "totally went to bat for me. She threatened to sit out this season, if I wasn't hired."

"Extortion?" Emma's eyes widened. "I love it! Can you imagine this show without her?" She giggled.

"That's why I stand before you, here on set, today, Kid." Demi looked fondly at her friend.

"You know, I've never asked you after all this time, Lea. Why'd you do it? You know, risking his wrath, and all? He's an amazing producer, I'm not sure I'd want to be on his bad side..."

Lea _pshawed._ "**Please.** Ryan and I? We're like an old married couple now, at this point. Besides, you don't hang out with _Rachel Berry_ for that much time without picking up a thing or two. You learn when you can push, and when you can't. You develop a ... I don't know...a certain understanding of the universe, that I didn't realize I inherited from her, I guess. And lesson number one from Rachel Berry: _you keep your knights close at hand,_ whenever possible, and look out for them. They're the only people you can trust." Gesturing dramatically, in a very Rachelesque manner, Lea concluded. "What would I be, if I didn't have _my second-in-command_? Who would kick my ass, when I needed it?"

She was looking at Demi, fondly.

Demi, in turn, looked like she was going to actually _cry. _Emma looked not too far behind.

Lea rolled her eyes. "Oh, _holy shit._ Women, this is getting too serious. Let's go hit the craft table...I need some more go-go juice. I had a very strange conversation, _very early_ this morning."

Lea pulled the two of them by the elbows. The three headed, arm in arm, towards the craft services table singing the refrain from Act II, _again_, at the top of their formidable lungs.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

He felt like he was _just here._

Artie sipped his latter, slowly. Over the billowing mounds of foam, he peered out towards his coffee date, the petite and beautiful brunette, with soulful brown eyes. _Soulful brown eyes_ that were pleading with him, at the moment. It was so déjà vu, all over again.

"Do you know _how much_ you remind me of Rachel Berry, in this very moment?"

She laughed, an easy laugh. "I get that a lot. All the time, in fact, especially from Demi. However, since you actually know us both, enlighten me…_is it working_?"

He sighed. "I wish it was, Lea. But honest to God, it's not going to happen."

"Why not?" Lea pouted.

They did their back and forth about why "Shell Collector" couldn't be made into a movie; Lea laid out her methodical master plan to refute his asserstion. She decribed her ideas of casting her and Beth in Act II instead of Act I; about her idea of hiring Emma to take over as Q for Act I; and insisted on hiring Demi for Lima Heights Adjacent for Act II.

"Look, Lea, _I get it._ The two of you really bonded during the play, and then she was gone. **Quit.** She went back to her real doctor life. I know that it wasn't the same for you after that. I understand you had a real lack of closure, I do. My heart broke for you, Lea." He gripped her hand across the booth reassuringly. "I _also_ realize your desire to reconnect now, after your loss, now that you've suffered such gut-wrenching and profound loss, in your personal life, just as she did. Honestly, I think that's what's obviously driving your need to reconnect with Beth. But Lea, you need to be careful. _You're rebounding_."

There was a very uncomfortable silence that passed between them. Finally, Lea responded, with a very different tone.

"She's _**not** my "rebound_**_,"_ Arthur**."

Lea had a look in her eye he had never seen before. She was on edge, and her jaw was firmly clenched. Clearly, he had overstepped.

"Lea, I adore you. I _respect_ you. I know what you're capable of. But, I mean this in the best possible way…wouldn't it just be simpler for you to just call her up, and have lunch, or something? Renew your friendship? Do you_ really_ need a multi-million dollar movie production to flop in order to accomplish your objectives? Wouldn't a phone call suffice?"

"**No.** And it won't flop."

"_It will._ Also, let's allow the elephant into the room to participate...have you forgotten one very important detail? You know the one that tells us that there's no _fucking way in hell_ that Beth would even consider doing this?"

Lea smiled, her newly discovered, omnipotent Rachel Berry smile, and said, smoothly, "Artie, Artie, Artie. _Don't worry_. I've got that covered."

The hairs stood up on the back of his neck.

Much to his future surprise, she _did _have it covered. Unbeknownst to him on that day, Lea had already put in the call to the master coercer herself, Sue Sylvester, who promised to deliver Beth to the production. Sue could be _very persuasive,_ indeed. The former cheerleading coach turned state Lieutenant Governor was one of the few left who could still get Beth to respond when necessary.

And all it took was a promise from Lea's, committing her performance services during a re-election campaign fundraiser party. Not a bad exchange, all in all. Lea had found herself extremely grateful in the past few months that people seemed to want to hear her sing.

"So, Artie, _are you in?_ Will you revive the women of the "Shell Collector," on the big screen?" Soulful brown eyes were again looking at him.

He sighed.

"I** love** those women, I do, Lea. Look, I loved them when I saw it happening before my eyes in real life, the_ first_ time. I loved them the second time, during the the Q recap when she wrote about it so painfully and eloquently. I even love the real life version of Faberry 3.0, unfolding before my eyes, now! Yes, Lea, I'd love to see them on the big screen. But Lea, you need to live in the real world. I'm going to be the _extreme minority_ of filmgoers! Besides, I'm already committed to Steven Spielberg, informally, for this summer…."

Lea leaned forward, emphatically. "Well, Artie, I'm Italian_. I can make you a deal you can't refuse."_

The hairs were up again.

"Guess who bought the film rights," Lea started dramatically, "...to the new Rick Riordian novel, and its** entire** series, just this morning?"

Lea's lips curled into a knowing smile. She_ did it._ She fucking did it. She _found_ his Achilles heel. Artie was a total Riordian fantasy novel nerd, and had been, for years.

"You?" He squeaked, weakly.

She looked at him with raised eyebrows and a quiet smile. However, he knew the answer before she even confirmed it. He_ himself_ had been trying to do that very thing for the past month. Mr. Riordian, however, was a stickler. _He wouldn't sell them._ He wondered how the tiny brunette before him accomplished the feat that so many before her had been _unable _to accomplish. He shook his head in disbelief.

Lea had picked up _quite a lot_ from her mentor, Rachel, it would now appear.

"Yes, Artie. **Moi**_**.**" _She smiled sweetly.

After taking a dramatic sip of her coffee, she continued. "If there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that _you're a genius,_ Artie."

She took another sip. "Artie, you're going to figure out how to do the impossible. You're going to make it so that this "minority" audience you love to keep mentioning, becomes the_ majority audience_ of filmgoers, instead. You're going to get this thing greenlit, Artie, and _you're going to make the movie version a hit. _An international hit. We'd have Europe, for sure."

He found himself nodding, weakly.

"So….are we done here? C'mon Artie, _let's make a movie_!"

She smiled, brightly.

He sighed. What kind of alternate universe did he find himself in, in which there were_ two_ Rachel Berry's in existence, exerting their formidable influence in the world? How did he get sucked into that strange vortex? His agent _wasn't _going to like his inevitable call asking him to extract himself from the Spielberg vehicle this summer….he spent _a solid month_ lobbying for Artie.

Instead, he was going to make _the ultimate chick empowerment flick. _He knew it, he accepted it. He knew it, like he knew he needed air to breathe. It was inevitable, like the Red Sox World Series victory of '13….or the sun would rise in the morning. He _knew_ he was going to do this, as was everyone else Lea had decided to target. And at the end of the day, it would be good for them all in one way or another. Everyone would benefit in the end.

How did this happen? How did he inherit _two _Rachel Berry's that he seemingly answered to, now? God help him.

_God help them all…._

**TBC.**

**A/N post note:** Not gonna lie...I loved this chapter, I really did. I realize that until now, Some of 'em sucked, some were tortuious, and some were just necessary exposition and felt like filler. I knew it. You knew it. But_ this_ was fun for me, I hope it was for you, too! Since everything leading up to this point was just necessary prologue, I am so excited to be done with it!

Onto the story!

Thanks for reading. Any suggestions are welcomed, this is the only part I story boarded, up to this point! P.S. I hear you guys, loud and clear, that you really like your angst, and would really like Beth and Lea to take a slow, deliberate, and **painful** path, requiring a lot of time and without sex before they get together… right? **_Bwhahah ha_**_ ... little jokey joke, there._


	16. And So, It Begins

**Story: I'm Not Your Rebound**

**Characters: **Lea/Beth; Demi/Tristan; Quinn/Rachel (Established Faberry)

**Rating:** The overarching theme is generally M. definitely M. Rated M. Judge Wopner.

**Disclaimers:** Don't own Glee, the Characters, the actors playing the characters, the Star Waggoner trailers, surgery residencies, or those new chewy starburst candies that are wrapper-free. All for good, clean (ish) fun, non-profit.

**A/N:** Thank you so much for the small yet oddly determined band of brothers (sistahs?) who keep reading and reviewing. You keep me hangin' on.

**Chapter: And So It Begins..**

Truthfully, Beth had not put much thought into taking a hiatus from her residency. Honestly she was a getting more than a little tired and she was kind of welcoming the break. However surgery residents don't admit, under any circumstances, that they need a break...or a vacation...or food and water, actually.

Her ability to be robotic was a trait cherished by the higher-ups. She was destined to be Chief Resident, even before she was officially designated as such.

While she would never admit it , she_ was_ tired...very tired ...of being a robot. Really she probably would've done any plausible excuse for a break she could that would still allow her to save face. Fortunately, this revising her Broadway role, turned out to be the free pass for which she secretly dreamed. As it so happened, the Chief of the Surgery Department had been quite a fan of the play. It was kind of an atypical choice of entertainment for the macho world surgeons, Beth mused, but she didn't care. It spelled F-R-E-E-D-O-M. While she had always loved her job in the past, this new batch of interns sucked. They were sucking her dry. They were a bunch of over privileged twits, who didn't understand the skut and hard work of being an intern was done on purpose to teach them the skills they would need to save lives under pressure. Their entitlement, and their weaknesses meant she was constantly going behind them to check orders, drips, talk to the nurses- as much as she wanted them to fail, and learn the hard way, it was an expensive lesson. It would mean a patient would have a bad outcome. That would not happen on her watch.

The conversation with her Department Chair allowing her to go was ...unexpected.

"No more than eight months, and I expect you back. That might mean no press junkets and all that bullshit, understand, Dr. Corcoran?"

"_You're letting m_e? Um, I mean, of course. Yes, sir. Eight months, sir!"

He looked amused. "Dr. Corcoran, we could use some ...well, how do we say this...diversity and good publicity around here. Being the most prestigious institution in the country means you have more than a few targets on your back. It would appear someone has been calling folks to review our residency hours. It would be nice to say, 'hey, we can still have outside interests,' and all that non-surgery bullshit. You're our star, and if we can let you go, it sends a powerful message. Understand?"

Beth was deep in thought.

"I do expect you to still keep up your research during your hiatus, however. You've been productive in publishing, and I expect you to finish writing up your current projects, to make the case to give you some academic credit."

Beth was still focused on his earlier comment. "This investigation...Sir, has this been a recent development?"

He grimaced. "We've always had our share of envy, of course. But yes, its been relatively recent thing. Why do you ask, Dr. Corcoran?"

"I don't like this new group of interns, not at all, Sir. They're a bunch of whiners. And I really don't like that one guy, Shah - is his name I think? He's the ringleader. Thinks his shit doesn't stink, because he has a bank account."

"You don't know the interns names?"

She shrugged. "I don't bother until I know if they're going to wash out or not."

He laughed. Another reason he had picked Chief correctly, he thought. "What do you proposed I do, Dr. Corcoran? Smoke 'em out?"

She thought, carefully. "No, that would appear punitive because a complaint had been made. They'll be looking for that. No, you should figure out if I'm right or not, first."

Leaning forward, he gestured for her to continue.

Thinking out loud, Beth mused, "Our IT department is pretty fucking- oops, I'm sorry. I mean, they're pretty darn incredible, sir. All of our laptops and email accounts are encrypted. You can have them profile all the users that sent or received email to and from the washington D.C. area, since the start of the academic year to determine which account or accounts were most likely to have lodged the complaint to D.C. at the AAMC. Then, you can drill down that list further, without violating any specific 1st amendment rights. You can say you were checking out a hacker, or a patient confidentiality risk, or something of that ilk was at stake. You don't have to read any specific emails, which would be a privacy litigation."

"Go on."

"Then, you lean on your likely perpetrators a bit. Build a file. By the time it comes out, you can show the mitigating factors. Bad egg syndrome. Best part? It won't be hard, since they suck, anyway."

"How do I know they didn't just call?"

"Because you know that it has to be a complaint, in writing, Sir. Legal purposes, and electronic correspondence counts. That's most likely how this complaint was made, because asking this generation to take the effort to write a paper letter is akin to asking them to write with scroll and ink quill. If it was done, it was sent, electronically."

"I fear you a little bit, Dr. Corcoran."

"Thank you for the compliment, Sir. Anything else?"

He shook his head. With his dismissal, she headed back to the wards. He called out, "Wait! One thing - how did you come up with this?"

She smiled. "I didn't. Actually, its an old trick of my former cheerleading coach. She used to do it to us all the time."

"Your_ cheerleading_ coach?" He said, incredulously.

"Yes, Sir. And with all due respect, Sir, she is still the only person I'm afraid of."

He shook his head, disbelieving, that a cheerleading coach would be so surreptitious. "I'd like to meet her, someday, this former coach of yours." He chucked.

"You might. Actually, Coach is the person that coerced me into doing this role again, Sir. And you probably will meet her someday, in her inevitable presidential bid. More than likely, she'll stump through Massachusetts, demanding health care reform. Since you're the President of our medical society, all I can say is, look out. She's currently the Governor of Ohio, now. You know, the swing state?"

She turned to go back to work, and let a smile escape her lips when she heard him choke on his coffee mid -sip with this bombshell. As she headed back to the wards, she had a new lightness in her step.

_Eight months free from stupid interns_, she thought gratefully.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

It wasn't until she was packing her very sparse bags, heading to Hollywood, that she looked at herself in the mirror. She caught a glimpse of herself, and was started, looking at the lines in her face and how much she had aged in the in the mirror. In that moment of quiet reflection, she actually wondered for the first time, _What am I **doing? **__I'm going to Hollywood to be in a movie- I'm not an actress; I'm a surgeon, God sakes!_

Then it finally hit her...

Lea.

**_Lea!_**

_Holy fuck a duck_, what was she thinking? She really had gone insane from severe residency-induced sleep deprivation! _How in the world would she even face her?_

What would Lea say to her after all these years, she wondered?

_"Oh thank you Beth! Thank you for being my rebound! Thank you for transitioning me between the girl who actually mattered to the boy who actually mattered?"_ Beth laughed hollowly to herself. _"Gosh, Beth, I want to thank you, so much, for being my nobody, and helping me to bridge that gap."_

Well, Beth thought grimly to herself, perhaps our estranged state will lend itself well to their strained relationship in our scenes at the beginning of our high school relationship. True Method acting, she thought, humorlessly.

Unfortunately for Beth, no one had told her that she and her estranged co-star would be stepping into the shoes of "Short Stack" and "Q" _in Act II_, yet. It was hard enough to get her to sign on, without throwing_ that_ curve ball right up front.

**XOXOXO**

Lea looked at the famous arches of the studio sound set. She sighed. She had been standing for at least 10 minutes, staring at the arches.

"Jesus, Midget, shit or get off the pot! Tristan and I have been watching you from the car for the last 10 minutes cracking up!"

Thank God it was Demi. How junior high was all of this... her behavior, her paralysis...she was a grown woman, for god sakes!

"I'm really glad to see you." Lea confessed.

"I'm glad to see you too,darling!" Tristan said laughing, whooshing in between the two actresses. He extended his hand. "Tristan LePettyfleur. I believe I'm your future love interest, pre-lesbian epiphany."

Lea looked back and forth between the two, and quickly made the connection. "I see you and Demi have become acquainted." Lea said, dryly.

"Tristan- be a dear. Can you see what time read through starts?"

He winked at Lea. "That's code for 'just and get your ass inside and leave me to do my chick talk with my homegirl,alright?'No code, needed, Demi. Jus tell me to get my gorgeous ass outta here, I gots it!" Kissing her on the forehead, he said, " I'll see you inside ladies." With another wink, he headed in.

"You okay, Lea?"

"Of course."

"Really?" The Latina asked, skeptically.

"No. Of course I'm not. I didn't sleep all night. I have _no idea_ what to say to Beth."

"You know, I hear "Hi" is always a good start."

"Demi, I'm _freaking out_. She must hate me." Demi put her arm around her friend and guided her inside.

"Relax, short stack. Auntie Demi's got an idea."

Lea stopped mid track. "Oh God, you've been talking to Santana again, haven't you?"

_"Perhaps_ she gave me an idea about what to do about this very fucked up situation," Demi confirmed, with a slight blush. "She said she and Brit had a real pressed lemon situation on their hands in high school, and this is what they did when they were trying to get Quinn and Rachel together."

"And what is that?" Lea said skeptically, recalling all of Rachel's stories regarding the antics of the real life Lima Heights Adjacent from high school.

"Well, San pretended _not_ to be friends with Rachel, and would dog on Rachel. It forced Quinn to come to her defense, and she went all scary HBIC mode to protect Rachel n'shit."

"Clever. Gave them something external to focus on, and bond over."

"Rigggght. 'Xactly."

"okay, '_operation undercover_' it is."

Demi didn't mention the part where Santana hit on Rachel to finally push Jealous Quinn over the last little repressed hump - hopefully it wouldn't come to that. After all, this generation of Faberry knew they liked each other already, right?

**XOXOXOXOX**

Lea's handsome co-star came up to her quickly. He whispered, "Demi said go to your trailer immediately - do NOT go to the main soundstage. She'll meet you inside. Now, don't ask questions."

Lea silently did as she was told, and heard a bunch of shouting in the distance. It sounded like some suits, Artie, even Quinn...and she thought she heard the resemblance of the sound of Beth's voice.

"That thing you signed? It's called a **contract**." Some male voice was saying.

"Come IN!" Demi yanked Lea into the trailer.

"Ouch! What the heck?"

"Lea, did you hear that major blow out? It was Beth! She just found out today...today! That you guys are in Act II, not Act I! She intially refused to do it. I think Quinn talked her into it, but then these stupid suits came in and threatened her with leagal action if she didn't do it!"

"How does she look?"

Demi raised her eyebrows. "Out of everyting I said, that's what you're asking?

"Well?"

"She looks...well. Older. Tired. More mature. But, yes, she's still hot as a fucking cat in heat."

Lea sighed, dreamily.

Demi shook her head, and stepped out of her trailer. Seeing Beth getting ready to walk past, Demi shouted, "_God damn, Lea,_ you are such a fucking prima donna! This is why you are such a fucking pain in the ass, and I can't believe I'm stuck filming with you in my off time, too! I am NOT "pitchy" Lea, I happen to sing for a living, may I remind you!"

She slammed the trailer door behind her, growling, and almost ran into Beth for dramatic effect.

"I see everyone's having a good morning, this morning." Beth said, amused.

"Yeah, I just saw the _Creature from the Stuck-Up Lagoon._ Gave me a rash, this early in the a.m. Have you gotten your coffee on, yet, Beth? I need to get my caffeine on."

Beth shook her head, no.

"Well, c'mon, you skinny blonde bitch. Let's hit the craft tent. I'm sure it won't be as good as Mr. Muccino's was, but you can't fuck up coffee, right?"

Beth raised her right hand. "I'm here to attest, from the past three years in the hospital, that you can, in fact, actually fuck up coffee. But I'll go with you anyway."

"C'mon, bitch."

"Right behind you."

**XOXOXOXO**

Artie was such a magnificent director because he had been such an astute observer of life. He caught the little things no one else did. He watched, he reflected, he observed, and he wasn't afraid to implement or improve a scene to put those observations into practice.

So, while Lea had given lip service and did the press junket about how she was looking forward to working with Beth again, because of their commanilities about their loss of loved ones, and all the perfunctory conversations regarding the past, she diligently side stepped any real questions of content regarding her deceased ex, and the lesbian relationship that she was getting ready to undertake...on film. She appeared, for all practical purposes, a respectful young woman, who had been grieving and was ready to take on a new professional challenge and dig into work to forget her losses.

However, the Mexican third eye was_ invented_ by Artie. And that's not what Artie actually saw.

The "need for a professional new challenge to dig into to forget the past" wasn't the cause of her urgency, or the common bond of the death of a loved one the basis her need to work with Beth again.

Dozens of interviews to the contrary, this wasn't about _that._ Lea didn't want to work with Beth because of their past similarities mired in tragedy; no... as the days of the read throughs and blocking work on, he observed the shy glances Lea would cast at Beth; the blush that would come over her face when Beth would tease her; and the inexorable manner in which the two would seem to find each other on every break or bit of down time, or end up next to each other in every group photograph.

Artie observed a woman who very much did not want to remain trapped in the past...she was a woman who wanted to move forward. Badly. The rehearsal schedule, once they finally calmed down Beth, was going to be demanding for both of them, especially since he had a few re-writes in mind, if the studio would go for it. And they were going to record the soundtrack first, while rehearsing and story-boarding scenes. It would be tough for both of them, but especially Beth. Beth was undergoing vocal training again, intensively, since she hadn't been doing much singing in the O.R. for the last three years; act two was going to be far more challenging vocally for her. He didn't want Lea to run over her, musically.

He didn't like how...haunted, she seemed now. Truth be told, however, it would play well for Q in college, grappling with coming out and coming to terms with her feelings for Lea...Rachel, he silently corrected himself. Talk about "blurred lines!" He worried about his skittish star, a bit. She seemed more fragile than he remembered.

God help Beth, he said silently. _God help us all._

**XOXOXOXO**

"So, I take it, the set of your T.V. show is not all huggies and kisses like the newsrags claim?" Beth said, sipping their coffee.

"Meh." Demi said, noncommittal. "So, Beth, this is Tristan. Tristan, Beth. She's hot, but don't get your hopes up, she doesn't swing that way."

Beth raised her eyebrows, very a la Quinn.

"You do still swing that way, right, Beth?"

She shrugged. "I suppose you could say that." Actually, since signing on for this film, she hadn't been swinging much at all. She couldn't, really; although subconscious her reasons why, at the time, she realized** now** that her heart was totally and completely committed to someone else, even still. Someone that her re-newed friend, Demi, did not seem to like, too much.

In the weeks leading up to California, Beth's body could no longer betray her heart. Beth had been pretty much in abstention since signing on.

"How is ... Lea, these days?"

"She's totally fucking hot, too, Beth. I'd hit that, if I were you." Tristan interjected, getting a whack from Demi.

Beth was lost in thought, for a moment, thinking of how good it felt to touch those long legs...kiss that soft skin, so pliable under her touch; hear her murmuring her name in that beautiful voice, _begging her_ to** finish** her, to make her come. Hard. Lea had felt so good, and realized now she always had. She missed her, so very much. It caused a swell of pain to rise up, like a bolus in her throat; and it was _so_ painful, to finally allow herself to think about it.

Shaking her out of her revere, she heard Demi snap at Tristan, "You're such a pig!"

"You love it though. And she** is** totally hot, right Beth?."

"I'm...I'm not really her type, I don't think." Beth said, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Honey," Tristan replied, "you're _everybody'_s type."

**XOXOXOXO**

Rehearsals had been going on for two weeks. Two long and painful weeks. Artie's Mexican Eye was going haywire.

He was taking a "frustration break" with his producing partner. He theorized all this love angst was hampering the filming.

"Lea likes Beth, Q. **A lot**. Like, _here come the brides_, a lot." Artie said, in one of their many huddled sessions, together. They had become producing partners back when "Shell Collector" was made, and she remained his most trusted, go-to adviser even today. She had encouraged him in some of the best creative and risky decisions that had led to his current standing as the director on everyone's A list. They had become easy friends, and Quinn adored and trusted him.

"_Lea?_ Really?" Quinn said, in disbelief. "Their past, um, dalliance aside, I have to say, she doesn't set off my gaydar, not even a little bitty bit, A squared."

He chuckled. "It certainly wouldn't be the first time a brunette _"went gay_" for a Fabray, Quinn. You do recall your own marriage, correct?"

Quinn scowled. "I was already gay, well before Rachel, Artie."

"Riiiight. That's why you married that guy, you know, the one with a penis? Admit it or not, Rachel forced you into being gay out in public. And would you have married a woman if it wasn't Rachel Berry?"

"Shut up."

"You just hate it when I'm right."

"Always." She grinned. "Well, what does the great and powerful Oz have to say about Beth, then? Is it a two way street?"

"Good question. I don't know, hard to read. Beth is so closed off nowadays, its hard to find her currency. But she reminds me of you, back in the you-and-Rachel-and-Finn-High School Musical Days."

Quinn gave him a quizzical look.

"I mean, like its deja vu again...Beth acts like she's annoyed by all of Lea's ramblings, but she's always_ justrightthere_, next to Lea. I catch her looking at Lea, but it's very controlled. Like she's daring herself to look...or_ something._ Like Lea is her kryptonite."

"Hmm. She sounds just like a Fabray."

"No she's just -_ hurt._ She'll get better."

"Do not deny the Fabray in her!" Quinn said, melodramatically. "It could take weeks."

"Not if," He leaned forward in his most Hitchcockian conspiratorial impression, "you _push the envelope, _my dear Quinn."

"Tip the velvet?"

"Exactly."

**XOXOXOX**

"These rewrites...um, I don't think my agent has seen these..."Lea said, in a high pitched nervous tone.

Beth walked up to the table read with her ubiquitous cup of coffee. "What rewrites?"

"Fer Christs sakes," Said Demi, playing Lima Adjacent, "Lea, no one wants to see your trainer-bra boobies. _Please_. Unless they're dispensing magnifying glasses with the tickets. This shit'd have to be on IMAX or something."

_From the sidelines, Quinn whispered, "Uh oh. Should we step in? Artie, shaking his head, put a hand across in front of Quinn to stop her intervention._

_"Wait. Let this unfold."_

At the holding pen on the soundstage, Lea's blush was unmistakable. "My breasts are _just fine,_ thank you, just because I don't need to go under the knife to surgically enhance MY talents..."

Demi stepped up and looked down on the smaller brunette. "God, I'm so sick of you! Are you implying I had a boob job, or that I'm untalented?"

Lea raised her eyebrows, defiantly. "Well, if the shoe fits..."

"Let's see this shoe fit up your ass, _biyatch_!" Demi huffed forward, to which Beth coolly stepped between them.

"Don't spill my coffee, please, Lovato." Beth said, calmly.

Demi paused slightly. "_I like you_, Beth, don't get involved. This is between me and the hobbit, here."

Beth looked around. "I don't see any hobbits."

Both women huffed.

"Listen, gals, I think we're all .._.tired._ We've been working some long hours, here. Catching the tail end of your..um..discussion...I think you are failing to hear each other. So if I may, as I understand it: Demi, you would like Lea to stop being so loud on set, and sounding like a frenetic hobbit."

"Yes! Exactly."

"Especially when you're a wee hung over."

"Yup."

Beth turned to face Lea. "Lea, you have essentially called Demi an untalented, breast-enhanced individual, yes?"

"I didn't say that, exactly."

Beth shot her a warning look.

"Okay, I _might_ have implied it."

"To which, Demi took umbrage, understandably so. I think we can all agree Demi is very talented, yes?"

Lea grumbled a yes.

"However, Demi, don't protest too much when your shit, stinks,_ ¿lo entiendes?"_

"What are you implying, **Beth?**"

"Really?" Beth raised her eyebrows, taking a sip of her coffee.

"_Really_."

Beth sighed. "Well, Demi, I commend your selection of the trans-axillary augmentation. Smart."

_"Oh shit," Whispered Quinn to Artie. "She's going to go all doctor on her ass."_

The young physician continued. "The incision line is hard to see. However, the potential disadvantage to this approach, and the reason it is opted for only 10-12% of the time, is that proper implant positioning is very difficult, unless performed by a skilled surgeon, using fiberoptics. And to the trained physician's eye, your left implant is placed asymmetric to your right, not following the _Facial Plane_."

"Goddammit, Corcoran."

"Wow." Lea said in amazement.

"Hey, Einstein. You're so goddamned smart with that Grey's Anatomy shit. Why aren't you in the hospital, saving lives instead of with us making a stupid movie?" Demi bantered.

Beth took another drink before replying. Deliberately, she offered, "Who says I_ didn't_ just save a life, just now?"

Winking at Lea, Beth then put her arm around Demi. "Besides, there aren't any hot, very talented characters like you in the hospital, Demi. Just boring doctors and sick patients."

She gave her an air-kiss on the cheek, and walked off to finish her coffee in peace. Lea stood transfixed, with a strange smile on her face, watching the cheerleader-turned actress-turned football days

"Wow." Quinn exhaled.

"Yeah,_ wow_." Artie agreed.

"When were you going to tell me about those re-writes, Artie?"

"Never."

"Gratuitous sex? _Really_?"

"Yep. And l_ots and lots_ of it in Act II! Q, We got the green light for an R rating yesterday! Hey, look...I'm helping the cause, sister! We grow the beard, as it were...Lea gets to rap her head around touching another human being again, Beth gets to prove she is an actual human being and not the stepford doctor, and ...hey. Have I mentioned gratuitous sex? That's a stand alone justification in my opinion. "

He grinned, and wheeled away.

**TBC**


	17. Something there

**Story: I'm Not Your Rebound**

**Characters: **Lea/Beth; Demi/Tristan; Quinn/Rachel (Established Faberry)

**Rating:**In the M purview

**Disclaimers:** Don't own Glee, the Characters, the actors playing the characters, the Star Waggoner trailers, surgery residencies, or those new chewy starburst candies that are wrapper-free. All for good, clean (ish) fun, non-profit.

**A/N:** Thank you so much for the small yet oddly determined band of brothers (sistahs?) who keep reading and reviewing. And for those of you who have figured out my secret identity, keep it to yourselves! _ Shhh!_

**Chapter: Something There That Was/Wasn't/Was There Before...**

Blackmail aside, Lea had had a valid point. Artie was a genius. He had a real gift for pulling out the best from people without their realizing it. Beth was certain ally one of those people. One month ago, she had her hand in people's guts; today, she was singing her own guts out. And it was _beautiful._

Beth and Lea had formed some semblance of a truce, really, but it was definitely tentative. They had been forced to spend a lot of time together, and now that all the vocal rehearsals were over, they were actually recording the soundtrack, which meant long days in the music studio. Although some of the musical arrangements were altered slightly for Beth's narrow ranged Alto, it actually blended with Lea's Soprano, _perfectly._

Puck and Shelby were surprised, they sounded as good, if not better, than the two power house sopranos that had inhabited the roles for Act II on Broadway. A soprano and an alto blended _better,_ actually. They were back to the ying/yang of their past vocal collaboration, anyway.

Even if that's _all_ they were back to.

Lea was so nervous around Beth, she found herself putting her foot in her mouth quite a bit. One afternoon, after a particularly demanding recording session, she intended to complement Beth on how far she had come vocally in such a short period. Trouble came, however, when she commented she had improved so much so _they didn't even have to autotune her,_ like they did for her boyfriend when **he** first started the show...

Once could suddenly hear crickets.

Lea, realizing too late what she had said, shut up _immediately. _Lea cringed. _Did I really have that moment of diarrhea of the mouth? Aloud?_ She thought.

Judging by the look on Beth's face, of devastation, it would appear that she actually_ did,_ in fact, _say it out loud._

"Ohmigod, I-I don't know why I said that. Please forget I said that, Beth. Just forget, I..."

"Gosh, I don't know if I can_ 'just forget that'_, Lea! Because _I love it,_ so much, when you compare me to your _deceased boyfriend_, Lea! That's just _all kinds_ of wonderful, for me, on so many levels." Beth said, gritting her teeth and storming off. Beth's feet were walking without any knowledge of where she was headed. She had to get out; she needed..._something._

Beth felt like she was going to suffocate. She recognized that old familiar feeling her anxious body was craving. She knew what she had to have, right in that instant. She knew what she needed. She needed...

_Sex._

She needed it_, right now._

Anonymous, cheap (figurative, not literally), and uncomplicated sex. And a lot of it.

She took a deep breath._ No, Beth, that's the last thing you need right now. Stop running away from being hurt, _she reasoned to herself._ Stop compartmentalizing. _She ran her fingers through her flaxen hair, and tried to calm down. Physicians get so damn skilled at walling off their emotions, in order to function in the face of tragedy. _What happens to those, however, that find themselves doing it now in every aspect of their life? _She wondered. Unfortunately, sometimes you have to actually feel things, process them, so you can actually get through them.

By compartmentalizing how much Lea had hurt her, and not addressing it, she was _never_ going to get over her. Ever.

Beth sighed.

"_Fuckin' _**Hell** _Yeah,_ Corcoran! I owe you a drink after work!" Bellowed the familiar voice of Demi, storming up behind her, and slapping her on the back.

Not really feeling up for Demi's malevolence this late in the afternoon, she sighed again. "And, why is that?"

"Because _I've been trying_ to get the fucking midget to cry for _four weeks,_ and **you** were the one that finally did it, damn it! I bow to your greatness, Oh HBIC Supreme!" Demi staged an elaborate bow. "But, you have to tell me...how'd ja do it? God, not a single insult of mine has worked, its like she has this perverted love of being harassed! She's just immune to my shit the fricken' buzz kill that she is!"

Beth looked stunned.

"God damn Beth, don't hold out on me now! Tell me, tell me! _This is going to be good._..should I get some popcorn n' shit, like the movies?"

"She...She's_ crying_?"

"Oh, shit yeah! Blubbering like a baby! After you dressed her down, apparently, she broke down in front of everyone, and went crying to her trailer. She hasn't been seen since! Its beautiful! I love you, Beth Corcoran...but, you know, like in a totally non-gay way, okay?"

"Y'know what, Demi?" Beth said, jaw tensing. "You're really kind of an ass, sometimes." Beth stormed off in the direction of Rachel's trailer.

_Bull's Eye_, thought Demi to herself, and she gave herself snaps.

She wasn't 100% positive, but she had a pretty good feeling she just hit a home run for the Olde Towne Team. Beth was so damn predictable, and talk about pressed lemons! In a slutty sort of actual lesbian way, that is. _ That Santana Lopez is just the absolute shit,_ thought Demi. _She knows what she's doin'...and she probably just threw on that kiss with Rachel just cause she wanted to, knowing her._ Demi chuckled to herself, sounding like an 11 year old with Bieber Fever or a One Direction Infection. _Santana Lopez kicks ass. End of story._

"Hey babe, I'm done! You ready for dinner?" Tristan said, appearing out of nowhere.

Demi sighed, and nodded.

**XOXOXO**

After arguing with herself for a series of minutes outside of Lea's trailer, she finally knocked. She decided, to hell with pride. What's it gotten me, so far? Just a mouthful of needles and a stomach full of bile...

she heard a meek 'come in' to her knock, so she entered tentatively.

"D... she _hates_ me." Lea moaned, back to the door.

"_uh_, it's not D. It's me." Beth said, simply.

Lea whirled around, incredulously, registering immediately who the voice belonged to.

"_Beth_?" Lea said, shocked.

"Hey, that's my name, don't wear it out..." Beth cringed at he hokeyness of what she just said. She cringed again when she saw the red rimmed eyes of the beauty for whom she couldn't admit she never fell out of love. She cringed for a third time with the realization _she_ did this;_ she_ caused those eyes to be so red and sad.

Big pools of brown wonderment that she only wanted ever to be happy, as they were meant to be; not sad. Beth realized, with the obvious symptoms before her, that, well...it _must_ mean that Lea, well, _cared_ about what Beth thought. _Right?_

_Huh_._ She** cares** what I think_. Beth thought.

Beth cleared her throat. "Lea, _um._ I've never been the _greatest_ at apologizing- in fact, I'm really kind of shitty. It's a huge flaw of mine." Beth sighed, and ran her fingers through her hair, again, in an attempt to fight her panic down. "I realize it's gotten even worse as I've become a doctor. So, at the outset, let me warn you: this is probably going to suck,_ I'm_ really going to suck, and this likely will suck in the grand schemes of apologies."

Lea waited patiently.

"But, Lea, I _am_ sorry, _y'know._..for hurting you."

"You are? When?" Lea said in a small voice.

Beth wanted to say, '_WTF...are you serious? I just said this is had for me! Don't make it harder! You were there, too, and you know what I mean!' _However, one glance at the broken woman in front of her, and Beth's bravado just dissolved. Beth finally grasped the realization that Lea was _probably_ referencing something more a little more global, and not just the mere blow up on set.

Beth swallowed her pride, and acknowledged, "Well, back on the set, just now...um, _for starters._"

Lea closed her eyes, squeezing them shut to block any more tears from falling.

Beth sat down. Impulsively, she grabbed the tiny hands of the girl in front of her. Holding them to her heart, Beth continued, sincerely. "And _I'm sorry_ that I didn't call you when your boyfriend died. That sucks, and I know it was probably very hard for you. I'm sorry I wasn't a friend to you, then."

Lea couldn't help it, the tears spilled out. Beth felt herself starting to choke up a little, too.

"And truthfully, Lea, I'm really **not** sorry I wasn't a friend to you, because truthfully, what I always wanted was to be_ more_ than a friend to you. I was angry there was someone else besides me, and I gave up. I couldn't face that I was relegated to being "just a friend to you." I'm sorry for that, for my weakness. But I just, well, I couldn't..." Beth's voice broke off. She was crying, and she didn't care that she was crying.

Big brown eyes finally looked up, and their gaze locked. The unmistakable connection that melded them together, resurfaced as their eyes met, in that one moment. It was absolutely pivotal...for _both_ of them. Beth released her hands.

Lea held her gaze. "I didn't expect that from you, Beth." She said quietly.

There was something, just so devastating to Beth, hearing her name spoken from those soft lips, and in such a quiet and earnest manner. It _wrecked_ Beth. She could have handled yelling, hitting, Lea calling her an asshat..._anything._ But not the quiet. Beth felt like she was suffocating again.

"But... I knew I didn't have that right, Lea. It was selfish to want that from you. I _know_ what I did. I don't expect you to understand or forgive me, but, well...I..."Beth was floundering.

Lea grabbed Beth's hand, and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "Go on," she encouraged.

Beth steadied her racing heartbeat, and started at the little hand in hers, again. So little.

"Well," Beth said, after a beat, "When Stacey died, I ...I ,..I felt so goddamn_ guilty_ all the time. Like I had sacrificed her, for my own happiness. I don't know, I can't explain it."

"Her death wasn't your fault, Beth."

"Maybe not...but my inattention most certainly was. And I think...I think subconsciously, I felt I had to push you away, Lea. Because you were responsible, you know."

Lea's eyebrows went up in disbelief. "Excuse me?"

Beth smiled, weakly. "Yes. _Responsible._ You were responsible for making me feel so damn happy, Lea. And I felt selfish, for being so happy. It felt indulgent, to have wanted to feel that way all the time...and in order to avenge her death, so to speak, I needed to re-prioritize. To re- focus." Beth was trembling, and Lea fought back the urge to hug her.

Or slap her.

Beth continued, with a pitiful look on her face. "Lea, I didn't _deserve_ to be happy, not when someone so innocent and good was dead. So I did what I felt I had to do."

"So you sacrificed...your happiness? _ Our_ happiness?" Lea said, biting back her disbelief.

"Not...consciously, I don't think. And then I shut myself off. I walled off emotion. I became, somewhat, inhuman, I think. It works well in surgery, but not really in real life. And I saw you in the papers with your boyfriend, and I kind of went a little...crazy."

Lea held her breath, waiting to see if Beth would be honest with her.

"I'm not proud of what I'm getting ready to tell you, Lea. I did some really pathological things, to try to forget... and I don't presume you'll even care, anymore. Lea," Beth sighed. "There were ...other women. _A lot_ of other women."

"Anyone serious?"

"**No.** Absolutely not."

Lea couldn't help the surge of relief she felt when Beth made that concession, officially.

"God, they were actually the_ anthesis_ of "someone serious", Lea. But, it served the purpose of it taking my mind off things. I kept trying to feel something..._anything._ But all I felt was a whole lot of _nothing,_ Lea."

Lea used her thumb to gently stroke the back of the blonde's hand she was holding, eliciting goosebumps.

"Nothing was all I ever felt. Because they weren't..._you._ They wern't _you,_ Lea, so they would never truly ever make me feel anything. And to lose you, and what you felt like in my arms? For that, I'm truly, _truly_ sorry, Lea. You have no idea."

They were both crying, now. They looked up and at each other, and started laughing at just how pathetic they both were. Then, that moment came again.

Beth sighed. "Lea..." she began tentatively. "Do you think...do you think we'd ever..."

Lea cut her off. "No way! Not until you're tested, first! I want proof!" She said in a semi-mocking tone.

Beth sent a fake scowl back, but then her face lit up.

"Needlestick!" She exclaimed.

"What?

"Needlestick, _needlestik!_ I forgot - I got stuck in the OR by an OR tech six weeks ago! I had to go to occupational health and get tested! Very, _very_ clean bill of health."

Beth grinned. Lea scowled, rolling her eyes.

"What?" Beth said, offended.

"Well," Lea said skeptically. "I suppose I won't contract hepatitis from you if I give you a hug, then."

"Nope."

Lea leaned in, skittishly, and wrapped her arms, tentatively, around Beth.

"God, Lea, _really?"_ Beth said. Without preamble, yanked the Diva, close into her. Gripping the little brunette into her arms, closer, and squeezed. Lea squealed.

"You act like I bite, Lea!"

"Well...you used to, as I recall. Bite." Lea winked.

Beth immediately turned scarlet red.

Beth was already addicted again, to the feel of Lea, no matter how platonic of a touch it was. Slowly, she leaned into Lea again, seeking the comfort of her hug, unrepentant. Lea sighed, blissfully, reciprocating the hug, and whispered,

"Beth? Whomever told you you're not good at apologies is wrong. Actually, you're really quite... wonderful at them."

**TBC**


	18. More Different, More Same

**Story: I'm Not Your Rebound**

**Characters: **Lea/Beth; Demi/Tristan; Quinn/Rachel (Established Faberry)

**Rating:** Revisiting our old pal, "M"

**Disclaimers:** Don't own Glee, the Characters, the actors playing the characters, the Star Waggoner trailers, surgery residencies, Judge Wopner, or the Red Sox World Series Champions.

**A/N:** LaurenKnight13, AlyBerry, Cuccino2002, laylarei, Bugsy1014, AnonBiggie, DevilDoc35, et al...I dub thee, Knights, version 2013! Now we just need to find a good Italian resturant somewhere and a big-ass round table! (Shh, remember secret identity are only so if they remain _secret,_ remember?) Thanks for weighing in on each chapters - it makes me feel like we're in a damn book club! (First rule about book club: we don't talk about book club.)

But, I also love all the new insights, too. There especially seems to be a hotbed of "feelings" around Dianna and her possible guest visit to the Rebound story. Thoughts? If you've never weighed in, speak now or forever hold your HBIC.

So, I'm warning you in advance, this is NOT the trailer scene. _I know, I know_...but its coming. Soon, grasshoppers. Actually Shell was a chronological story, believe it or not, but all these lagniappe chapters leading up to the trailer chapter demonstrates how tangential the full story actually was! Because all of these other backstories, like this one, it really lost its focus, when it was really about Quinn and Rachel. So I cut and pastes excerpts, and I know that was sometimes hard to follow. The most salient review I got both posted and PMed was from Dizzle24 who made me realize no one had a fuck's clue what was going on, but I appreciate that many of you kept reading anyway! (Hence, the Knight designation...) However, I did kind of love the tangential stories, this being one of them, and I want to thank you for allowing to flesh it out a bit, Beta, and fill in some of the missing details and even add a few new things here and there. Those of you who have been with this since the beginning of "Shell" know what I'm talking about, and those of you who are new to just this story, don't worry. Bottom line: sweet lady kisses are coming in the not too distant future.

Hell of an authors' note, huh? Not my usual snark - its some actual insight. Don't worry, that won't happen again...but, I do want to say, sincerely, Thanks for the reads and reviews. It's appreciated, and occasionally shocking.

**Chapter: Something Different, Something Same**

It didn't go unnoticed by the "Act II Crewe", as they self-dubbed themselves, regarding the gradually decreasing presence of Beth and Lea at their group lunches.

"Seems Q and Short Stack need a little extra rehearsals, huh?" Tristan gave a nudge nudge to Demi.

"Is that what they're calling it these days?" A random token woman of color said.

"Hey, token bitch, nothings going on. They're just friends. Got that?" Demi said.

The last thing Demi needed was some stupid minor character shooting off their mouth insensitively and scaring Beth off. It had taken all her acting chops to get them here, to this point, and she wasn't going to have some glorified extra scare Beth off.

Demi channeled Santana, and apparently it worked. The girl shut up.

Meanwhile, the couple of speculation was off having a private rendez-vous. They were just having a little picnic of sorts, as they had every day this week, sitting outside in a secluded area with their bag lunch they both brought in from home. They did their ritual trades they had started doing daily.

"What do you want for your pretzel chips?"

"Your hummus, tofu, and sprouts."

"What? That's outrageous, Beth!"

"Take it or leave it, Stack. I'm not the one NOT eating these delicious, savory crackers..." which she plopped on in her mouth for dramatic effect.

"Evil. You're just evil, Beth Corcoran, through and through!"

_"Bwhah hah ha!"_ She said, conjuring up her most mad scientist maniacal laugh. Beth's phone chirped.

"Shit, that's my bosses' text tone. Just a sec." Beth moved over Rachel, getting her phone out of her backpack. Rachel shivered at the mere flicker of contact that passed between them.

Beth dialed her phone. Face grim, she spoke. "Hello, sir." Beth began, sounding quite professional. "I got your message to call."

Lea listened to Beth's various mmm-hmmm's, and uh-hugs, and ah-hah! exclamations. She thought she heard Beth emphatically mention something sounding like, "Shah? Really? I KNEW it. Thank you!" But she was so far gone in watching the muscles on Beths jaw line open, shut; open, shut...it was almost hypnotic.

Then she could have sworn she heard her name. Then again. To her surgery boss? Huh?

"Yes, sir, I have met Lea Michele, actually. Yes, if I see her, I promise to try to get her autograph for you." Beth rolled her eyes. "Yes, sir, she does have quite a voice for a little thing, I agree. Yes, I have heard her sing in real life." Beth was clearly shocked and annoyed that her boss had such a detailed knowledge of all things Lea.

Lea debated with herself.

Clearly, one side won. "Beth, they're calling us on set!" Lea sing-songed loudly.

Beth's eyes went wide...WTF? This was_ her boss_ that she was talking to, that Lea was presently fucking with! Before she could be irritated too much longer, Lea heard a her say, "Um, yes, that_ is_ Lea. What is she doing? Well, I believe she's asking me to come to the set because its our turn to film a few scenes."

Apparantely, Lea's diarrhea of the mouth syndrome was contagious.

"Well, would you like to ask her yourself, sir?" She looked green as she realized what she offered, and more green when he acknowledged he would like that opportunity, thank you very much. As Beth handed her phone over to Lea, she felt her stomach knot, due to the cocktail of emotions swirling around in it: one part respect, on part irritation, and one part sheer terror, and a sprinkle of amusement.

She mouthed to Lea, "Be. Nice."

Lea rolled her eyes. "Like. I'm. Ever. Not. Nice!"

"Hello, to whom am I speaking?" Lea said, dramatically.

"Hello, Mike. This is Lea Safarti. Yes, that's right,_ also known_ as Michele."

Beth could practically fee

"Let's take a picture and send it to the ol' man. Should give him a heart attack."

"only if we take it naked."

"No, that he would force himself to stay alive for.

XOXOXOX

"Lea, wait!" Beth caught up with Lea, and grabbed her by the hand to spin her around, inadvertently linking their fingers together. They both looked down, but they also both kept their fingers intertwined.

"What is it?"

"I have to skip our lunchnick, today."

"Oh,"said Lea, trying not to look crest fallen. "that's okay, no biggie." She tried to release Beth's hand in hers, but Beth would have none of it. She gripped Lea's hand tighter.

"don't get defensive, Short Stack, remember? No, its just I have to interview a regional candidate for my alma mater's class next year."

Lea practially chocked on her own spit. "You're doing interviews for ... for ... Harv-"

Beth planted her hand down on the Diva's lips. "Shhhh! We don't say that name aloud, in the light of day!"

Lea tried to pull Beth's hand off her mouth, but the years of surgery had made her hands, um, awfully strong and dexterous, and she was unable. Beth continued her rant, stage whispering. "We only say 'we went to college in Boston.' Never Never Never say the name out loud."

Lea paused, thinking. She_ hadn't_ ever heard Beth actually say the name of her alma matter. "What happens?" she asked, when the death grip was off her.

"The Dark Lord will return."

"Oh, shut up, nincompoop!" Lea said, laughing. She started tickling Beth, her greatest weakness. Beth started cackling. "no fair! No fair! Uncle! Uncle!"

"That's not it!" Lea said, with an evil glint, as she continued to ddiv into her. Beth was being tortured! And she couldn't breathe, those hands were everywhere!

Wait. Those hands were...everywhere...

Lea's momentary lapse of attention was recognized as the teue opportunity that it was. She flipped Lea over, and started to tickle Lea.

"Nope, Beth, still not ticklish!" She said, looking deliberately impassive.

They stared, again. Deep into each other's eye. Beth cleared her throat. "Ahem. Um." She coughed. "Maybe we could...I don't know, make lunch up later?"

Lea waved her finger in the air. "Like, make it up tomorrow? With the_ lunch we were going to eat together_ anyway?"

"No, Miss Smart Ass, I meant like..." Beth blushed. "Like,_ dinner _tonight. With me."

"Yay!" Lea squealed, launching herself into Beth's embrace, one in which Beth did not realize she was supposed to give. She put her arms around her, sort of .

Lea laughed. "Hug me like you were meant to hug me, girrrl!" She said in her most bad ass voice.

Her arms felt so good...they always had.

No sooner did they have their arms wrapped around each other, bodies tentatively pressed against one another, did a pimply looking young man stopped by.

"Here are your re-writes for session two, ladies. Read 'em and weep." He skulked off, searching for the other affected cast members.

"Shit...this is_ thick._" Lea gasped. "There's at least forty pages here!" She exclaimed, alarmed.

"It doesn't appear to have us in all of it, thank God. Lea, how...how about we go over this, after lunch? We don't shoot until 3:30pm, it looks like, by the new schedule." Beth said.

"Oh, that would be wonderful!" Said the diminutive brunette, clapping her hands together. "Can we do some lines?"

"Of course. I'll see you after the interview." Without thinking, she gave Lea a quick peck on the cheek before her exit.

They both pretended they didn't notice, but they both _totally_ did. It was hard to play off the significance of the fact it was the_ first kiss_ of BCoCele, version 2.0...after all.

**XOXOXO**

Beth tapped her foot impatiently.

She had given up her precious lunch with her...what? Friend? _Used to Be Lover?_ Her..._Lea?_ She had given up her lunch with Lea for this ignorant interview the the admissions office liasioned directly with her, and the candidate was late! That was a big fucking X to the big H. Lateness. Bah.

She heard a breathless "I'm sorry I'm late, Beth! Oh my God, Artie is killing us, in Act I! Jesus H. Christ, "Love Connection 3: Summer Style" suddenly looks like the movie I should have made!"

Plopping down in front of a shocked Beth Corcoran was none other than the candidate..."Emma R." In the flesh. Why she didn't connect "Emma R" with the "Emma R" sitting in front of her, she had no idea.

"You're the "candidate"?"

"I am, that is, if my uncharacteristic lateness hasn't disqualified me. I hate lateness."

Beth chuckeled.

"Don't go into medicine, then."

"Don't worry, I won't.** Yuk**."

"Hey!"

Emma laughed. "Great interview so far, huh? So what are you going to write? _'I interviewed the eminently qualified candidate that would grow to become me, in Act II. Although, she was far prettier and witter than I, I noted with some alarm.'_ Sounds good?" Emma chucked.

"_Too modest_, is how I'll start it, I imagine." Beth chucked, in response.

Emma grinned. However, a cloud of darkness quickly shadowed her face. "Beth, seriously now, how much of a disadvantage will it be that I did a regional interview instead of a local one? They wouldn't budge outside of this week, and Artie and Quinn absolutely wouldn't let me go, because of the projected rewrites. They said it would push the schedule back a week if I left." Emma said, glumly. "But, it's my future! Quinn kept telling me I was a lock, and it didn't matter."

Beth looked irritated. "And how would a _Yale graduate_ know that? Even if she** is** my mother."

"I know! That's what I thought! But I didn't say it..._you know_...out loud. The lady at admissions said I was a candidate for a regional interview, and I about died when you were listed as a regional interviewer! Sort of serendipitous, really. But...I'm still worried."

Beth chose her words, carefully. "Well, the last 11 out of 11 candidates I interviewed over the past few years all got in, so, not too bad, I'd say."

Emma breathed out, a nervous breath. She closed her eyes. Beth sized her up.

"So, Em, I must ask...why do you want to go to college, at all? And of all things, there? It's _not_ a push-over, and Elisabeth Shue and Natalie Portman's 10 year plans aside, respectively, is generally not so flexible. Matt Damon and Bill Gates never graduated, you know. They're generally not flexible- undergrad, graduate or training programs and post-docs, nothing."

"Says the surgeon in the most competitive residency program in the country that only traditionally offers two days off in a calendar year, who is now currently having lunch with me while in Hollywood filming a movie."

Beth laughed. "Touche. Your research is disturbing. But it remains a valid question."

Emma narrowed her eyes. "You don't think I can _do_ it."

The blonde doctor's face remained neutral. "On the contrary..._I know_ you can DO it. We wouldn't be here, otherwise. My alma matter doesn't bother with "regional" interviews unless you're a lock of a candidate. There would be too much inter-interviewer variability for it to be a valid process, actually. But that only becomes a problem, if you don't get in."

A light went on across Emma's face.

"You see, Emma, my job, really, is to make sure you aren't a sociopath and actually belong to the same genus species as human beings here on the planet Earth." Emma laughed. Beth continued, "If you require **real** vetting you go to the mother ship, and so many, many people size you up. Clearly, they think you belong, Emma."

Leaning forward, Beth looked her in the eye. "The questions is, however, **why** do you want to belong? Clearly you don't need it to be a _successful actress_..."

Emma cut her off. "That's if you assume that_ acting_ is endgame, Beth."

"_Millions_ of little girls dream of being exactly where you are, Emma. Its not an unreasonable assumption."

"Millions of little girls are _not me._ This is **not** my dream. People automatically assume it is...but its **far** from it," her "younger self" admitted, with obvious bitterness.

Beth was shocked. This was such a different face from the happy-go-lucky visage she put forward, and that Beth herself had gotten to know. The older version of Q ran her fingers through her hair.

"Okay, fair enough. Let's reset. So...Emma? Why don't you tell me what your dream is, and how does this institution fit into that dream?" Beth shouldn't have chosen that moment in which to take a sizable drink of her iced tea.

"Electrical Engineering."

Beth spit and snorted her tea simultaneously. "_**Ackgh!"**_ Beth chocked. "_What?_ What the hell?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "See?"

"Did you say...electrical engineering? I thought I heard you say something that sounded like _electrical engineering._.."

"That's because_ I did_, dorkus."

"Well. That's ... hm. Unexpected."

Emma rolled her eyes, again. "This, from the surgeon-slash-biochemist. Hypocracy, much?"

"Okay, then. Prove it."

"_Prove_ I love engineering?" Emma said, quizzically.

"That's right."

"Okay..." Emma took a breath. "Well, I really love modeling distribution systems, such as single phase power, in which all the voltages vary in unison. I love it because you can create such a model by rotating a moving coil in a magnetic field or alternatively by moving a field around a stationary coil. It is _exquisite,_ really, that the alternating voltage and alternating current produced in such a manner can actually be referred to as single phase voltage and current. I find it ironic, because different types of circuits show different response to the application of sinusoidal input, which to me, shouldn't really have such variability. But, I suppose, if you truly consider ALL circuits-taking in the universe that can include resistance only circuits, capacitance only circuits, and inductor only circuits, and then jazz it up with a combination of all three, you can try to establish a single phase power equation. It's really..._.cool._ And that's why I love it."

Emma expected to see the typical glassy eyed response that generally greeted her, when she was done waxing poetic about things that interested her to Beverly Hills kids, but was shocked to see Beth nodding.

"I was always _such a fan_ of Ohm's law. I get it." Beth said, matter of factly.

Emma could have cried. Beth cleared her throat.

"Emma, they have us do blind interviews without access to metrics, so, I'm assuming you're off-the-chain _smart._"

She shrugged. "I test well, I guess. My aunt says aliens left me at the doorstep."

Beth smiled to herself. She had used distractors like that, herself in the day, to hide the fact she liked _math_ and not musical theatre from her adoptive mom. It would have broken her heart.

Emma continued. "I heard I had the exact same score as you on the SAT, if that's what you're asking."

Beth shrugged. "_Meh._ I had a bad day on the day I took the SAT. I had a cold and was hopped up on meds."

"Missing **one** point is hardly a _bad day._"

"In surgery, its considered failure, honey."

"Glad I want to be a nerd, then, instead of a surgeon. I like engineers better, you doctors are too unforgiving."

Beth smiled. "That's what they all say...until you need one."

"Meh! I'll sew myself back up. Human anatomy is the biggest circuit, ever."

"You _still_ have to sew, though. They don't teach you that in engineering."

"They **do** teach you how to sodor, though." Emma said, laughing. "I'll weld myself back together!"

Oddly, since day one of filming, though they rarely had scenes together, Beth had always _liked_ Emma. She could hardly say what that was based on, because she barely knew her. Now she knew why...she had a kindred nerd spirit. Beth knew she would liked her, thought, because she knew that_ Lea_ adored her, from her tiny stint on Glee. Beth changed the subject.

"So, how'd you like doing Glee?"

"Oh, God...I loved it! If every project was like that, I'd stay in acting. But, well, they aren't. Most suck ass." She took a bite of salad. "Y'know, Beth, it wasn't unlike "Shell," actually. A lot of the same people are here, if you think about it..."

Emma started listing all of the common cast members, ending with "...and of course, Demi and Lea. But I think you're aware Lea is on this project." She smiled.

"I've been made aware, yes." Beth grinned back.

"I'm glad you two are...what? What do you call it..._reconnecting?_ Making up? **Whatever.**..I'm glad. I think Lea missed you. I'm really happy you're spending time together, again." Emma said, tentatively, as she attempted to spear her endive.

"And how would you know that? You're on a totally different sound stage!"

"Oh, D told me."

"Who is 'D'?"

Emma looked at her like she had three heads. "Demi, _DUH_."

"And why would Demi bother with noticing that?"

"Oh, I don't know, I guess cause they're like, you know,_ BFF's and shit_. Again, DUH." Emma continued, amazing that Beth was so damn dense.

"**_Who_** is BFF's?"

"Damn, Beth, do you need some coffee or something?_ Lea and Demi!_ You know, joined at the hip Lea and Demi?"

A slow realization was making its way to Beth's cerebral cortex. "Lea. And Demi..." Beth said, slowly.

"I believe that's what I said, yes. Like, five times."

"Friends."

"Yes."

_"Best_ friends."

"**Yes.**" Emma said, looking at her lunch partner, oddly. "But not more that that, **at all**, if that's why you're being weird."

"Am I being weird? I'm sorry. I actually just took my allergy medicine, and I think its kicking in, finally."

"Oh! Well, you_ are_ acting weird, a little, Beth. I wouldn't take any more."

"No...I won't. Trust me."

They chatted for a bit more, and then Beth looked at her watch. "Oh, shit, Emma, I have to go! I need to make a very important call to a friend of mine that I just remembered..." she said, rushing to clean up.

"Oh...okay. I'm sorry, I hope that your friend doesn't mind you being late? My present arrival time aside, I hate it when people are late."

Beth smirked, and the look on her face gave Emma some unexplained chills. "No, she _never_ minds if I call late. Actually, it's family. It's my Aunt."

Flipping her Longchamps bag on her shoulder, she looked at Emma.

"My_ Aunt_ Santana will just be glad to hear from me, that's all. I needed to make a research call to her, and I just realized it** had** to be today."

Beth pushed in her chair. "Bye, Emma. You'll be fine. They'll be lucky to have you."

Giving the relieved young woman a hug, Beth ran off, wheels furiously turning in her head.

**TBC.**

_Dum dum dahhhhhhh!_


	19. Trailer Reenact, Trailer Redact

**Story: I'm Not Your Rebound**

**Characters: **Lea/Beth; Demi/Tristan; Quinn/Rachel (Established Faberry)

**Rating:** Now, today, in fact, we will actually be revisiting our old pal, "M"

**Disclaimers:** Don't own Glee, the Characters, the actors playing the characters, the Star Waggoner trailers, surgery residencies, Judge Wopner, or the Red Sox World Series Champions. Don't own the SATs, any colleges in the east. This is purely non profit here.

**A/N:** Thank you for all the comments, Knights, v. 2013, _et al. _Had I known this would generate so much damn excitement we should have printed up the T-shirts long ago! As becoming an Official Knight of the Shell Collector is a long and venerated tradition dating all the way back to yesterday, I hope you will take on this mantle with the seriousness and decorum this position requires of you, nay, will _demand_ of you. Ergo, my fellow Knights, I believe we need to go over the RULES:

**The Knight's **Rules of the Shell Collector (_FIGHT CLUB)_ BOOK CLUB

**1st RULE:** You do not talk about (_FIGHT CLU_B) BOOK CLUB

**2nd RULE:** You **DO NOT** talk about_ (FIGHT CLUB)_ BOOK CLUB

**3rd RULE:** If someone says "stop" or goes limp, taps out, or just can't follow the sequence of the story, the event is **over**.

**4th RULE:** Only two gals to a fight. (Unless Santana is involved).

**5th RULE:** One fight fanfic at a time. (Unless Santana is involved).

**6th RULE:** No shirts, no shoes. Got a problem with that? G!P's are allowed, however.

**7th RULE:** Fight fanfics will go on as long as they have to. Or they may not go on at all, and just leave you tinged with bitterness and despair, wondering how to go on…. (Hellllllooooo _RhymesinOrange_….)

**8th RULE:** If this is your first night at_ (FIGHT CLUB)_ BOOK CLUB, you HAVE to (_Fight)_. Beta.

(Rules loosely based on Art Linson's "Fight Club." I do not own that intellectual property. But I did enjoy it, Mr. Linson…please don't hit me! I have to keep my nose intact for Broadway!) Any questions on Broadway veracity, contact Spr1ngAwoke,the Knight recorder of Deeds and Records.

For the rest of you non-zealous weekend-only readers (you know who you are) We are getting to a juncture soon where we have to jump of the Dianna cliff, once and for all. Thoughts? Bitch? Not a bitch? Unrequited love? Moved on and in the "pal" zone? Wantin' some of that Lea action? On to bigger and better things? Sex change? And of course, my personal favorite, Are Beth and Dianna actually the same person and cannot exist in the same time/space continuum? What a conundrum! What? Inquiring minds want to know.

Regardless of your level of interest (ranging from utter indifference/disgust, to fanatical), thank you for taking time out of your day to post a review, Folks.

**Chapter: Trailer Reenact, Trailer Redact...**

As fate would have it, the walk back from soundstage 38 to soundstage 42 was quite a haul, as Beth discovered, stomping back to her place of work.

The lengthy distance was likely the reason the Act I gang and Act II gang rarely co-mingled, actually. However, today, in this moment, it proved a very fortuitous thing, as it forced Beth to stop thinking about smashing in Demi's head, while simultaneously breaking up with Lea. Instead, she calmed down in the moment and actually processed what she heard.

First,_ of course_ this had her Aunty Snix's fingerprints all over it. She _knew_ Santana. Boy, did she ever! She knew. There was no need to call.

Second, Beth realized , fairly or not, Lea _was_ deathly afraid of her, Beth, when they first started renewing their ...whatever they had going on. And if Demi was trying to force Beth to take a side, to actually DO something, well, she was actually effective. So in a fucked up way , she kinda owed D.

And Lea? She was scared. She probably just wanted some help and support. If she was guilty of anything, Lea was guilty of wanting to BE with her. Granted, it was an incredibly manipulative and deceptive way to go about it...

_Stop! _ Beth said to herself. _ You've slept with one hundred and sixty two women, give or take, in the last three years, to get over Lea...so you really don't have any room to argue, here._ In the bigger scheme of things, Lea and Demi hadn't hurt anyone external, really. Whereas Beth knew, despite her totally up front honesty with all her past liaisons, it was fucked up. Plus, the idea of collateral damage was an issues...she had _still_ broken a heart or two along the way.

Finally, it was not Demi's fault that Santana was insane and coerced people into fucked up ideas. Because, she was. Auntie Snix had only two settings: Inappropriate, and _more_ Inappropriate. But for those actually IN the family, being used to Snix, and growing up hearing all the stories, she knew there were several iterations of Auntie San's pushing Quinn and Rachel together pushing the envelope towards their collective lives. It was a gesture meant well, and is a larger reason they are here today.

_Hell_, a Hollywood _movie_ was being made about that very thing...

And Beth was nothing like her Mom. She wasn't repressed and in denial. I_m totally different than my mom,_ Beth reasoned to herself. She knew she wanted Lea, She reasoned. _I mean, my LQF mom was such a prude, and was forced to pretend to be some version of a stepford daughter to make him happy and love her...and though I've never met Russell, its easy to wonder WHY mom didn't just **stand up to him** from the stories she tells. He was such an ass, and absolutely hated Lea._

_**Whoops!**__...__I meant,_ _ Rachel!_

___ Quinn loved **Rachel!**_

_NOT **Lea**. __"Hello Beth. This is Freud. I need my slip back." Well, Freud, __I meant, RACHEL. Not Lea. _Beth corrected her Freudian slip.

Her subconscious was hinting the apple didn't fall far from the tree. ? Beth grit her jaw as she recalled her lunch with Emma just today.

Maybe history does repeat itself sometimes.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"Rach, Baby, I need to take this call in the other room."

The brunette looked up from the script she was reading. "Sure, dear, who is it?"

"Beth," the blonde said, as she left the from their living room. Once entrenched inside the library, she shut (and locked, because, _c'mon_... have you met Rachel Berry?) the door, and continued in hushed tones.

The two had a real heart to heart about honesty, facing yourself and how Quinn dealt with coming out in very difficult and unforgiving situations. Quinn was surprised, yet happy, Beth was finally asking the questions she never dreamed they'd ever discuss. Eventially, the call drifted to Beth's real question for which she needed her mothers' unusual insight. She called about the little stunt Demi and Lea pulled off, playing Beth, circa Rachel and Santana a la 2011.

Now, she needed to make a decision about how she felt about it...stat. A zealot in terms of punctuality was awaiting her return In her pink trailer.

"Oh, holy shit.. San_ totally_ did that to me, pulling the 'I hate Rachel Berry campaign' and it _worked!_ She actually made ME feel bad for the little midget. She forced me to defend her...and the rest as they say was history. Did Demi, like Santana, actually go so far as to hit on her?"

"_What_?" Beth blew up. "She better** fucking** not!"

A moment of silence passed, with Beth huffing on the other end.

"Well, you have your answer, I think, in terms of how you feel about Lea...you still feel enough to be jealous. God I spent my entire high school career jealous, I think." Quinn continued to listen to the labored breathing of her angsting offspring as she parted with, "but always remember the intentions were good. Yes they played you for a fool, bit not malevolently so."

Beth said nothing .

Quinn sighed. Double checking that no one was around, she whispered, "Look. You're going to get your happy ending. But it will bug you, maybe not as much as it did for me and Tana Taco Tuesday, but you have to understand, ** she** was that sand In my ass crack that would always just...irk me. I hated the fact that_ they played me_."

"So what'd you do?"

"I played 'em _right bac_k."

Beth smiled. "How?"

Quinn detailed what she did, as well as what she thought Beth should do now, and she waited she could practically hear Beth's gears were cranking. While she hoped she hadn't unleashed a force of doom, she knew she might have. As she got ready to hang up, she felt compelled to add a cautionary note. "Beth?"

"Yes?"

"Even though she is that irritating sand in my ass-crack, I really first I want to remind you, Santana is practically my other half of my soul. Granted, likely the bad part, of course, but it would be a lost soul without her. Don't do anything irreparable - to anyone. Especially to a friend...okay?"

"I will try. That's All I can promise."

"Okay. That's better than nothing."

**XOXOXOXOX**

Lea had used Beth's little foray back to academia over lunch to memorize all her lines. Plus Beth had a photographic memory, so really, this was sort of an exercise in redundancy, really. She knew it, she suspected Beth knew it...hell, the pizza delivery guy 2 trailers over knew.

Yet, Lea played it out, to perfection. "Last minute rewrites throw me off, Beth. _Thanks so much_ for coming over to run lines with me!" Lea said, grin wide across her face.

_Too eager, Lea. _She thought, worriedly. _Calm it the fuck down._

"No prob. But…I would think that that sorta happens, like all the time in "Glee", doesn't it?"

"No, never!" _Lie, lie, lie._

Lea continued, nervously, "See, Ryan Murphy is, like, this compulsive zealot…" _That part is actually true._

"..and he stays _married_ to the original script." _When he even shows up, anymore._

"So, my ability to … improv, on the fly, is a little rusty."

_Horseshit, and you know it, Michele…but who cares? It got her in your trailer, didn't it?_

She looked nervously at the young doctor. Beth looked back. Then, time stopped. For a split second, Lea could have_ sworn_ she saw something there…what was it? Enjoyment? Perhaps. Maybe even stirrings of something more? But just as quickly as it ghosted across the blonde's face, it left, just as quickly. Beth closed herself off. She had a funny look on her face when she said briskly to Lea,

"Well, lets get started, then! Chop, chop!"

That push and pull dynamic didn't go away, for the entire afternoon. They ran their lines, but didn't actually act out the intimate first kiss that would lead to their first sexual encounter…

Until the second read through, Lea was sure this time, sure that she saw… desire. Beth was looking at her lips, longingly….

Unconsciously, Lea licked them.

Beth looked at her feet, clearing her throat, nervously.

"Well, I think we've got it, down. So…I'll see you at shooting, in 15 mikes?"

As she turned for the door, Lea burst out, "Wait! Um…we haven't decided! Right or Left?"

"What do you mean, _right or left_?"

Lea scooted up to Beth, facing her, standing just a hair too close…Beth was certain she could feel Lea's heat, radiating off her…

It was doing weird things to her.

"You know, the kiss! Which way do you want to go? Of course, it depends on Blocking, but assuming we're standing in this direction, do you generally go…" Lea slid her arms, slyly, up and around Beth's neck as she continued, "to the right?" Lea leaned in a bit, and looked up with her big doe eyes, sending Beth's heart beat racing. "Or, do you prefer… the left? " Her lips were ghosting over Beth's. She could feel her breath. Continuing in a whisper, she said, "This is an important question, you know."

Beth, observing her arms, almost as a detached observer as opposed to the actual owner of said arms, watched them as they slid, involuntarily, around the smaller girl's waist.

Raising her eyebrows in slight disbelief, she continued to watch as they seemed to next be pulling her…_closer._

Lea was pressing against the front of Beth's torso, feeling her warmth, and looking up at her.

It was unclear as to who leaned in first, but their lips came crashing down, hard, at the same time.

Lea melted into the kiss, putting every passionate, unspoken desire she had had for this woman over the past few years into that kiss; Beth, inexperienced in the swarm of emotion overtaking her, felt a jolt of fire shoot between her legs.

As a result, she…moaned.

Beth Corcoran moaned.

That simple, guttural utterance set fire to Lea's libido. The confirmation that Beth felt this too, even a little sent her into overdrive. With the small separation of her mouth, Lea attacked her lips in response, pushing her tongue deep into Beth's mouth.

The contact with this….precision instrument, peppering the back of her mouth, finally wrestling with her _own _tongue, _shocked_ Beth. And it set her on fire. She returned the kiss, gripping Lea everywhere; her back…her hair…her shoulders….she couldn't touch her _enough._ Beth wanted to slide her hands down further, much lower, to touch that ass, that magnificent ass, she had noticed on the first day of filming. To knead that ass. Her physician's hands had touched countless bodies before, but they never caused a bolt of lightning to tap dance from her nipples to her clit in such a rapid-fire circuit…

Lea urged Beth backwards, as her patellar fossa touched lightly the edge of Lea's couch. She allowed her self to be pushed down, back down, onto the couch. Lea promptly straddled her, looking down at the breathless Blonde.

"You are so….beautiful, Beth. _So beautiful_."

"Thank you." She blushed.

Lea leaned down, and gave her a passionate kiss, albeit brief; just as quickly, she raised up to look at the woman below her, again.

"And you have no..._fucking_…idea, just how** gorgeous** you actually are, do you?" Lea said, intensely.

Beth swallowed. You could hear a pin drop, at the two looked at each other.

In a deliberate motion, Lea rocked her pelvis backward. Due to the rather indecent straddling position they were in, from Lea mounting the shy doctor, the sensation was _unmistakable._ Lea's pussy hole made a grinding motion, one that was excruciating, …_against Beth's clit._

Involuntarily, Beth threw her head back, and make a guttural noise, of sheer arousal.

"_Oh, God!_ Lea….."

She had little time to catch her breath, as the brunette jammed her pelvis backwards again, rubbing most deliberately against Beth's swelling clit.

**_"Fuck!"_** Beth couldn't help the gutteral noise coming out of her mouth at this moment.

The sound of Beth, losing control, was enough to cause Lea to lose her grip on the little control she had left. She didn't care. It was time for some cold, hard, truth. Truth: She _wanted _Beth.

She wanted Beth.

She wanted to…_fuck… _Beth.

A lot.

Sliding her leg in between Beth's two, Lea deftly jammed her knee against Beth's center, pressing it against the blonde's opening. "_I want to fuck you…._ Beth. A whole lot, Beth. I want to get, deep inside you and feel you..."Lea panted, as she felt Beth's center, which was warm...no, which was burning,_ hot._

Lea was coming undone. Lea smashed her lips down on Beth's as she gave her sloppy kisses, tongue penetrating her mouth, while she pressed her knee harder into Beth's warmth. And she could feel Beth, getting even _warmer._

Hot, even.

The long forgotten touch of the blonde's soft skin, the feel of her body re-awoke something in Lea that had been left for dead. She felt_ passion._ She felt _desire._ She felt just the deep, ruddy need that an animal feels, when it wants to mate. She just wanted to _fuck this woman_ so unbelievably much, and she had repressed her feelings for so long.

They all came flooding back.

Suddenly, Lea's lips and mouth were everywhere; on Beth's pulse point on her neck, Behind her ear; On her collarbone, then back to her neck, sucking hard with a little bit of pain. Abstractly, Beth realized makeup would likely have to do something about that…from where Lea marked her, sucking her; Beth's entire body was beginning to tense, and shake, with the bruising.

Lea's mouth continued on its trajectory: chest. Further south: the tip of her nipple, over her shirt. Beth strained to raise the nipple to meet Lea's eager mouth, the action seemingly providing assent, followed shortly by a sound from the back of her throat, moaning her consent.

"_OhmyfuckingGod_, Lea. Take my shirt off, Lea! **Take** it – _ohhhhhhh!"_

She was silenced by the swift movement of the removal of her shirt, the unclasping of her bra, and the demanding tug of Lea's mouth on her bare nipple. Years on Broadway, with quick backstage change of costumes, had finally paid off for Lea; she was a Houdini of sorts with the quick change. Beth, freshly exposed, was arching her back, angling her unclothed body towards Lea's mouth. That gifted, _gifted_ mouth!

As she rocked backwards, moaning under the tortuous feelings created by the simultaneous action of Lea's oral ministrations sucking on her breast, while she kneaded the other nipple roughly with her hand, she thought she might be losing sanity. She involuntarily flexed her leg, with an uncontrolled spasm, which slicing it between Lea's. Beth's eyes shot open, as she felt the truth of the_ heat_ radiating off of Lea's commando presentation – despite wearing a sun dress. Lea was so fucking aroused!

And _so_ fucking indecent, Beth thought, as she attempted to coordinate her efforts to thrust her knee into Lea's core, again, while being driven insane by Lea's insistent mouth on her body. Also killing her was the fact her own knee was now covered in Lea's wetness, below. Lea pulled herself off Beth's swollen nipple and raised up.

While Beth looked on, Lea deftly removed her dress, in one motion. Beth did, however, beat her to the snap of her bra, earning her a impressed look.

Beth's breath caught in her throat, as she looked at the goddess that was straddling her, naked.

She literally took her breath away.

Timidly, she placed her hands on Lea's side, stroking her gently. Looking up, she saw Lea's eyes, dilated, possessed; she was rocking, and panting…

Beth's hands quickly sought out Lea's breasts, stroking the nipples until they became hard points.

She gave her a deliberate glance as she pinched them…._hard._

"Fuck!" Lea gasped.

Tumbling down, she laid on top of the blonde. The sensation of the contact caused them both to seize, slightly. Gasping, they felt the electrifying sensation of their skin touching the other's skin. Then, their lips found each other; again, longing for the recent memory of the other…kissing, pressing…bold.

_Needy._

They had abandoned all modesty at this point, and were now rocking, furiously, grinding against each other…full of need, and want. It was unbridled lust, and intense, long-standing want, that needed to be sated. It needed to be doing_ exactly_ what they were doing…

Lea could feel her walls begin to tighten.

"I'm_ close_, Beth…" she gasped.

"Oh, fuck!" Beth said, as she pulled a hand from the grip on Lea's back, and winding it down between their sweaty torso, allowing her fingertips to snake against the swollen bead between Lea's legs….

Lea's head slammed into Beth. "Holy f_ucking_ God. Don't stop. Don't stop…**.that.** Don't fucking stop…."

Beth abstractly realized she was tasting blood in her mouth…she had bitten Lea's neck, accidentally, while rubbing her clit at a determined and furious pace. She was uncertain whose blood it actually belonged to.

Lea forced her pelvis up as Beth ground hers down – Lea could _feel_ her orgasm building …she could _feel_ the well of emotions bubbling over… She could feel...

_She could feel herself falling in love with Beth_.

"_Please_, Beth," she gasped. "Right there! Oh, **Right there**! Yes, _yes,_ yes! Fuck, _Fuck._...Right there…."

She felt a well spring of emotions...her head was splitting. Her lungs could not breathe enough oxygen. Every muscle tightened. But mostly, all she could feel was a shock of current originating from between her legs, with the spasiming muscle contractions of her opening, clamping down on Beth's fingers as they thrust in and out of her, forcefully.

Beth sounded animalistic, heady, out of control. She wouldn't stop thrusting, even though Lea had come undone. She kept thrusting, and wantonly put her mouth on top of Lea's beaded clit, and sucked it until it was erect again. Lea gasped, as she felt her arousal build. Already. Her body was already craving release again...already!

"Beth,** fuck**, Beth, don't stop_ that_..."

**XOXOXOXOXOXXOX**

Lea had lost count of how many times Beth had made her come that afternoon. Beth had definitely leaned a thing or two since they were last together, and if Lea could organize her thoughts, she could have potentially been upset by that realization. However, as it was, she could barely remember her own _name,_ anymore. Her body was quivering, in random, disorganized spasms, from being in a constant state of arousal all afternoon.

Lea gazed, unfocused, at the blonde above her, with her messy JBF hair and that gorgeous, smug smile gracing the beautiful face that had spent an unreasonable, and somewhat inhuman, amount of time between her legs...

A sudden banging on the door caused them to startle, abruptly.

"**_Corcoran!_** **_Lea!_** What to the actual fuck are you doing in there?" It was the voice of Beth's celluloid second in command.

Lea flew off the blonde, draping a robe around her naked body, tossing a wrap to the blonde. "Demi?" She said, voice shaky.

"No, it's the fucking _Easter Bunny_. Open up! You two already missed your call time! A-squared is going to _kill _you! Do you have your issues worked out yet?"

"Yes." they called back, in unison, redressing quickly. Beth unlocked the door, looking directly at the Latina brunette dyed blonde, nee her second in command.

"Oh-**ho!** Looks like the doctor is _playing doctor_ in here!" Peeking around Beth, she said, "Afternoon, **Michele**."

"Hello, Demi."

No one said anything. Lea and Demi stared at each other.

Finally, Beth spoke. "Um, perhaps we should make our call time, Lea?"

Lea and Demi were startled back to life. "Oh, shit!"

As the actresses, clearly hastily dressed, exited Lea's trailer, Demi tossed a quick look back at the diva.

"Hey! Nice shade of lipstick, Lea. But... I'd cover up that Hickey before you leave, if I were you." Demi said, with a wink, as she shut the trailer door behind them.

"Oh, no!" Lea said, running to the closest mirror to confirm the Latina's observation.

While jogging back to the set, Demi couldn't hold it in. " I like your lipstick, too, Dr. B. Looks similar to Lea's..."

"_Shut it_, Taco Tuesday!"

Nonplussed, she continued. "I mean, _what the fuck_ were you doing? I think you're_** bleeding,**_ Beth!" She goaded.

Beth gave her a dirty look. "If you must know, we were doing our new script lines, and ….um, determining the blocking on the kiss."

"Looks like you got that shit worked out, then." Demi said, with a wink. And they had. They were the unconventional "go to the left" couple, it would appear. Lea finally emerged from her trailed, attempting to smooth down her horribly wrinkled clothes, and ignoring the whistles from Demi.

"I'll meet you on the set, Lea. I want to talk to Demi for a second." Beth said, nonchalantly.

"Oh...okay, then." Lea said, looking back quizzically. "don't take too long, we don't have much time."

"You got it." She said, patting Lea along by the butt, causing her to squeal.

Once Lea was out of visual sight and hearing distance, Beth rounded to face the Latina and stared her squarely in the eye. The burning fire that was deep inside those irises scared Demi, inexplicably. Beth slammed her hand against the trailer, narrowly missing Demi's right ear. Despite the miss, she flinched anyway.

Beth raised her eyebrows, in the patented Fabray HBIC manner, challenging Demi.

"Well..." Demi said, nervously. "It looks like you've, y'know, _made up_ with the hobbit, there, Beth."

"I wouldn't say that."

"Really?" Demi cocked her head, in confusion.

"Yes_ really_. I wouldn't say that. What I did was..." she leaned forward, in a borderline menacing fashion to whisper in Demi's right ear, "...I _fucked the shit_ out of her. Shortly thereafter, I'm going to dump her. Tonight,in fact, on her **_ass._**"

"What?" Demi screeched, in a higher tone than she meant to. Clearing her throat, she continued. "I mean, wow. You know, that's _cold_, there, Corcoran."

Beth slammed her knee between Demi's legs as she pressed her into it, leaning even closer. Their lips were practically touching, and Beth's knee was firmly holding Demi in place. The startled Latina gasped.

"You see, Demi, I've been listening to you. You finally made _a lot_ of sense to me."

"I did? _You did?_ What?" Squeaked Demi.

"Why am I wasting my time with someone so ..._ blech._ Why not go after something, worthwhile?" She pressed her knee against Demi's clit, harder, for emphasis.

Demi looked shell-shocked. Beth grinned a predator's grin.

"And I have only YOU to thank for waking me up to this, Demi. You. So here's how I see it: I'm going to dump the hobbit, on her ass, in front of the entire cast and crew after scenes today...fucking hilarious! Then, and then, I'm going to find** you** after, and you and I are going to fuck ourselves silly, until it's tomorrow, until our internal organs get rearranged, you know what I'm sayin?"

To emphasize her point, she forced her lips on Demi's with brutal command, penetrating her mouth, _deeply_ with her tongue. Beth made sure she swirled it around the resisting mouth, tasting everywhere, while she pressed the body to body contact further. Her hands were roaming, thoroughly, staking their claim up and down Demi's frozen body.

Beth pulled off. "Ugh. I have to go do my scenes with that charity case, sorry. But I will be seeing you.._.later."_

Demi stood there, still frozen, shell shocked at what had just happened. She didn't move until she heard Beth snap her fingers, calling her name as she left for the set.

"Demi? _Demi!_ Hey, Demi!"

Demi's eyes turned, slowly, and looked at the retreating blonde, who had a smirk.

"Hey. I do want to say... I'm really sorry about that kiss, Demi. I know you tasted _Lea's pussy_ all up in my mouth. Sorry, she was so fucking pathetic begging me for it, and she would NOT get that snatch off my mouth all afternoon.._.gross_! But I **promise** you...later tonight, all you'll taste is YOUR pussy juice on my lips."

She gave a wink, and turned around to get to set.

Once out of view, Beth laughed to herself the entire way there as she thought of how quickly all the color drained out of Demi's entire face, hearing Beth's parting comment.

_"Score one for you, Ma."_ She said, to no one in particular. Beth whistled the closing number for Act II as she hustled off to the awaiting set.

**TBC.**


	20. Revelations

**Story: I'm Not Your Rebound**

**Characters: **Lea/Beth; Demi/Tristan; Quinn/Rachel (Established Faberry); past Achele

**Rating: **equal opportunity ratings. Ranges from PG-M

**Disclaimers:** Don't own Glee, the Characters, the actors playing the characters, the Star Waggoner trailers, Don't own the SATs, any colleges in the east. This is purely non profit here.

**A/N:** Thanks to all who have weighed in. And to the one reviewer with the concerns that Dianna would be handled with kindness - fear not. I love her, and I think that its totally bizarre that she has evaporated into thin air as far a Glee is concerned. I can say with 100% certainty that she will have more visibility and respect **here** than on Glee if that comes to pass.

**Chapter: Revelations**

Quinn caught Beth right before she went into the soundstage, breathless.

"Are you _sure_ about this?" Quinn said.

Beth clasped the face of the older woman in front of her. Earnestly, she looked directly into her eyes. "_Of course_. The only way to deal with people like this... is head on. If you don't, and you'll be living in fear the rest of your life. You cannot negotiate with terrorists."

"That's not the part I'm talking about."

"_Oh._"

"And I don't know that I'd call our best friends terrorists, exactly. No, I'm referring to the other part, Beth. Are you sure? Are you _sure_ this is a good idea?"

Beth cleared her throat. "Um, wasn't it actually like,_ your_ idea?"

"Yes...like twenty plus years ago, or whatever. However, I caveat: you're taking life altering advice from a self-identified idiot then,_ full_ of bad ideas!"

"That doesn't make** this** a bad idea, though, does it?"

Quinn paused. She smiled, gently. "No, it doesn't."

"Right then." Beth exhaled. "Wasn't then, isn't now. So, okay LQF...hand it over."

Reluctantly, Quinn handed a small package wrapped in brown paper and twine. Beth looked down at the package, shaking her head. "This is how you stored it? God, LQF, you _used_ to be so cutting edge, so hip. What happened to you?"

Quinn leveled a glare at the younger, but taller blonde. "Well, _for starters,_ I got pregnant at sixteen..."

"Ouch. Okay, that hurt a little bit." Beth winced.

"..._you didn't let me finish_, Beth. I got pregnant at sixteen, and when my eyes beheld the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, my _only_ daughter, when she was born at 8 pounds, 10 ounces, well...I fell in total love. And I knew, things I thought were so important before, really weren't."

Beth didn't feel so snippy, anymore. In fact, she felt herself choking up.

"_I knew_, I just knew, Beth, that I had to make a promise to that beautiful baby girl, that I would do_ better_ than I did before. And that is the moment at which I gained the strength to admit-to myself, at least - that I, Quinn Fabray, was in love with Rachel Berry."

"Well, okay, then. That doesn't sound so bad." Beth said, wiping the tears from her eyes, in an unglamorous swipe.

"It wasn't bad. But, what it became, was hard. Hard word. Hard decisions. Hard choices. Hard times, to implement all of the above. Make no mistake...true love is a lot of fucking work."

"I know, LQF, I know."

Quinn looked around, left, right. She whispered, softly. "Do you think, Beth, just this once...in this moment...could you call me..." Quinn paused.

Beth saw the well of emotion in her eyes. So many things she wanted to ask of Beth, but she was afraid. Beth waited, but Quinn seemed unable to go on.

Beth took the hands of the woman before her. "LQF, you know, I've said to Lea _many_ times...the best part about doing the "Shell Collector" was not the fame or any of that crap. It's that I had a chance to get to know** you.** I never would have gotten that opportunity, you know, Quinn. I never would have learned so much about you...and I'm so glad I did. You're_ amazing_, Quinn. And I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you, to give me up, and then to watch from the sidelines, regulated to some distant role in my life."

Tears rolled unabashedly down Quinn's cheeks.

"_Yes_, Shelby is my mom. And Shelby was, and is, an _excellent_ mom. I feel so bad for Rachel...God. And the fact we're not all in major therapy and totally dysfunctional, is a miracle."

"Who says we're not dysfunctional?" Quinn chuckled.

"Truth." Beth continued, softly. "But if you need to hear it, Quinn, from me, then that's okay. It doesn't disrespect my Mother, Shelby, by any stretch to have a...well, a 'bonus' mom. You'll always be my mother, too, Quinn. Always."

Quinn nodded, unable to respond. For a woman who made her living on words, and their clever employment to craft something meaningful, she was completely _without_ them at the moment.

"But Quinn, Shelby understands that feeling of being on the sidelines. She hated it, with Rachel...and she knows she came across as distant, but it's so much more complicated than that. She never felt like she had a place in Rachel's life, you know. She hoped, and hopes, for something different for you and I. She has told me that she has no problem with you in my life as my "bonus mom," you know."

Quinn cleared her throat. "Sounds like the play was good for a lot of people, in unexpected ways."

Beth laughed. "One could say that, yes. So, _ Quinn_..." Beth's voice trailed off, and she gripped Quinn's hands, forcing her to meet her own eyes.

Quinn was silent, taking in the woman Beth had become, standing before her. Beth had become so much more than she and Noah could have ever expected. She was _amazing._ That credit, while inherent to Beth, went to Shelby, and Quinn felt another twinge of regret, and loss, once again.

"Hey! Look at me, LQF.._.look at me_."

"I am."

"I am **so** lucky, you know, to have been born your daughter. I am lucky for second chances. And you know what? _I love you_, mom. Thank you _so much_ for being here today, and giving me this." Beth said, grasping the shoddy little package. "It means a lot to me."

Beth hugged the stoic woman in front of her, repentant in her tears. Quinn finally hugged back, and cried harder. After a moment, Beth pulled back and looked into her mother's eyes. She said, mustering the most sincere effort she could, reassured Quinn. "Mom, listen. You _are_ worthy of my love, because, well, you have it. I just love you, Quinn. And its not my place to say, but I'll say it anyway: you're also worthy of Rachel's love, too. And here's the thing, Quinn..._**you** _really don't get to make that decision, anyway, of if you're 'worthy of being loved,' because frankly, that's insane, and ridiculous, and mostly because that decision belongs to the people who love you. Not _you._"

Quinn shook her head. "How did you get so smart, Beth?"

"Well, I am a doctor."

"That's the rumor."

"So should we go in, and do this? Put on a real show?"

Quinn shrugged. "_Ehhh._ I don't have anything better to do...why not."

Beth swatted her, and they giggled, heading in, for what would surely prove to be quite the eventful day.

**XOXOXOXOOOXOXOX**

Demi was a complete and total neurotic mess.

What the_ fuck_ was happening? How could this have backfired on her so badly? _Granted,_ she thought to herself, _**I am**__ scathingly hot, but Jesus H. Christ, my best friend, Lea, is going to be devastated! Emotionally, mentally devastated._

And she would be to blame.

Demi continued pacing in her trailer. _The woman Lea loved, fucking Beth Corcoran, M.D., was so pliable that she ... God! Instead of taking a little bad mouthing as a battle cry, like most NORMAL people would have, instead of standing up for Lea, instead of all that, the expected outcome..._

_Fuck! _Beth was _shallow! _ Demi never saw that coming. She never thought that Santana's plan would backfire, and that Beth would be _ so malleable as to be_ influenced by popular opinion and just ...give up on her! Demi, distressed, popped open a Red Bull, and continued pacing. She glanced up at the clock to see how much time was left in Lea and Beth's scenes.

Fuck fuck fuck! Only 25 more minutes.

_She was supposed to defend her! Love her! Honor her...instead, she decided to let "popular opinion" change her view on the desirability of the woman she loved. _Demi couldn't believe it, couldn't process it. _What a fucking spineless coward!_

Essentially, Demi had worn a track in her carpet in her trailer. Slamming down the last of her Red Bull, Demi decided that no matter her culpability in this stupid affair, it was her responsibility to bear to make sure that Lea didn't get publically humiliated. She owed her that.

She wasn't exactly sure _how_ she was going to do it, but she knew she would.

She thought about calling Santana, and begging for help. However, she really didn't want her to know that this had gotten so fucked up, on her watch. Demi racked her brain, thinking if she had sent "mixed messages" to Beth...led her on in any conceivable way...but she kept coming up with the same resounding nothing. Zero. And frankly, She didn't want Santana to be disappointed in her, for some odd reason.

Looking at the clock with 10 minutes left ticking down, she huffed. Putting on her coat, she headed towards their sound stage.

"Well, here goes nothing. Let's get this show on the road." She threw the empty can into the trash. "Fuck recycling, today. God...hopefully, Lea won't think I led her on, Jesus, and that I wanted this to happen!"

Demi grimaced, afraid of what was about to happen. This wasn't going to end well, for someone.

**XOXOXOXOXOXO**

Demi arrived, breathless, just in time for the last takes. Beth was off in make up, getting touched up.

"Everything okay, Lea?"

"Of course? Why wouldn't it be?"

"Oh, I don't know. It's a weird day."

"D, you're sweating."

Demi looked at herself in the mirror. "Yeah, well, I ran over here. I wanted to catch the tail end of filming."

"Okay..." Lea said, looking oddly at her strange acting friend. Demi caught Beth out of the side of her peripheral vision. "Excuse me, Lea. I'll BRB." Lea nodded, watching her friend, who was acting so oddly.

Demi hustled over to the nonchalant blonde. Hissing, she grabbed Beth by the arm. "You're _not_ going to do something crazy, are you?"

Beth laughed. "Eager, much, Lovato?" She leaned closer, into Demi, to whisper into her ear. In a low voice only Demi could hear, Beth growled, "Don't worry, baby, it's **on.** She's been nothing but clinging to my ass all day..._you were so right._ Have you seen what she's been wearing today? FUGLY. God. How could I have ever been interested in THAT? Now...let's get this shit done, and then, Baby, I'm going to make you feel **all** the things you deserve to feel, tonight. _I'm going to play you like a violin_..."

Demi shuddered. So it _was_ true. She hadn't imagined this horrible nightmare.

"Beth, **no!** You can't do this to Lea!"

"Oh, but I can! _You've_ been the one pushing me to do it...and look, I'm _going_ to do it. So that you and I..." Beth raised her eyebrows. "..._can do it._ Tonight."

"No!"

Beth scowled. "Stop being such _a pussy,_ Demi. God, I hate women who won't admit what they want! Fine, let me help remind you...just remember, you're forcing me to do this!" Beth stomped out to the center stage area, where every eye was on her.

"Hey...everyone, can I have your attention, please?" Beth called out, in a clear, firm voice.

_No, No, NO!_ Demi's mind screamed to her.

"As some of you may have realized, or not...especially if you were with us on the stage production as well...Lea Michele and I have developed a...well, how do you say it here in Hollywood...hmm. 'A deep friendship?' Titters of laughter were heard.

Lea cocked her head at her dressing table, completely taken aback. She glanced over at Demi, who looked absolutely panicked.

_What's wrong?_ Lea mouthed. Demi shook her head. Lea looked, concerned, from her friend, to her sort of girlfriend, center stage.

"Well, although I am NOT a public person, I feel that I need to SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT. I am a very independent person, but it should come as no surprise, to those who know me...who know us... what I'm about to do."

A grin slid across Beth's face, as she pulled something out of her jacket. In that moment, Demi, without thinking, launched herself forward. "No! Fucking stop, Beth Corcoran! _ I'm not going to sleep with you_! You are a fucking dirtbag...y_ou can't do this to Lea!"_ And she slapped Beth squarely across her face.

The room was silent. Lea's eyes, hard, were looking at them, curiously.

Rubbing her jaw, Beth laughed. "While I appreciate the offer, Demi, no, um, sorry. I have a girlfriend. Or should I say, I hope I have a girlfriend." Casting her eyes to Lea, she pulled out a small book that in the dingy wrapping.

"Sorry for the strange interruption, folks."

Nervous laughter broke out in the stage.

Walking over to Lea, past a stunned Demi, Beth's voice was clear. "In my hand, is the original copy of a book of poetry that was read by my mother, who is here," Beth gestured over to Quinn, who had a strange smile on her face. "...to the woman of her dreams, Rachel Berry. Inside, is the pressed Gardenia corsage that she wore, unknowing, that Rachel had picked out for her, secretly. " Lea's eyes were shining, focused directly on Beth.

Demi was mortified. She stepped out of the soundstage to some isolated dirty looks, as she escaped.

All eyes, however, were still on Beth. "My mom, Quinn, told me, that I would know, if it was true love when I wanted to read poetry to that someone. And since I hate poetry, that's saying something." Pearls of laughter were heard, replacing the awkward silence from Demi's outburst.

"Despite the odd other offers aside from today, I can honestly say, I think of no other person, besides you, Lea."

An 'AWWWWWW' was heard on the set.

"I've been told, by you, I believe, that I have a small 'commitment' issue..._**so.** _Here in front of God and everyone, that issue ends. Today. I'm telling you Lea Michele, I never want to think of anyone else, ever. Would you do me the honor, Lea, of being my girlfriend, and let me read you some.._ugh_... poetry, tonight?"

Lea's eyes were shining, bright.

"Beth!" She exclaimed, happily, throwing her arms around the blond. Quinn walked over something to Beth, which Beth took from her mother. Beth silently, with a smile, handed over to Lea the bouquet of gardenias, from Quinn.

Lea's eyes filled with tears, and she smiled, kissing Beth full on the lips, for God and the world to see.

Demi, still cringing, having slunk out of a the soundstage, was humiliated. She had almost made it, undetected, to the safety of her trailer, where she could die of embarrassment. However, the junior AD came running up to her.

"Miss Lovato?"

"Yes?" She said groaning.

"I was told to give this to you. Here." He said, awkwardly.

Demi opened the envelope. Inside, was a gift certificate for Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream.

Demi scrunched up her face, and read further:

_For Your Date Tonight..With Yourself. Consider Us Even. And Remind Santana Lopez One Shouldn't Fuck With A Fabray._

**_TBC_**


	21. Don't Tug On Santana's Cape

**Story: I'm Not Your Rebound**

**Characters: **Lea/Beth; Demi/Tristan; Quinn/Rachel (Established Faberry); past Achele

**Rating: **equal opportunity ratings. Ranges from PG-M

**Disclaimers:** Don't own Glee, the Characters, the actors playing the characters, the Star Waggoner trailers, Don't own the SATs, any colleges in the east. This is purely non profit here. Totally don't own Theodore Geisel's literary works.

**A/N:** Thanks to all who have weighed in. And to the one reviewer with the concerns that Dianna would be handled with kindness - fear not. I love her, and I think that its totally bizarre that she has evaporated into thin air as far a Glee is concerned. I can say with 100% certainty that she will have more visibility here than on Glee if that comes to pass.

**Chapter: Don't Pull On Santana's Cape**

Santana was_ pissed. _

Fucking ballistic, balls-to-the-wall, pissed.

Beth's "altercation" with Demi did not go as planned, and the fact she fucked with her girl who was doing a nice gesture, and yet seemingly coming out on top, well, it was almost like fucking William McKinley High Fucking School all over again. It was so fucked up! Quinn could have an illegitimate fucking baby, and Coach still wanted her more than...anyone, to captain the team. Despite the closeness she had developed with Quinn and Rachel over the years, Demi's story sent her flying back to her insecure high school years, where she was still under the fucking thumb of one Miss Quinn Fabray, Miss All-American. Everyone's HBIC. And Santana would forever be the bridesmaid. It hurt. Quinn would always be able to hit her where it hurt.

And then, it hit her. _ Hit 'em where it hurts_...suddenly, Santana's mind was working furiously, was like It was like a bad Dr. Seuss book, gone seriously awry:

_ Auntie Snix was in a snit; _

_Snixies slithered, snithered, and shimmied down the way..._

_ She tapped her teeth. She scratched her chin. She rubbed her face,_

_**She knew**__ someone, somehow, was going to have to dearly pay!_

_But how? And who? Who would have to pay?_

_And then she got her idea...her wonderful, terrible idea... The whizmagot watchadoo torment device..._

_Designed just for those bothersome, meddlesome Sneeches called Fabray!_

_Auntie Snix knew, she just knew._

_Today. Today would be THAT DAY._

_-Bwhahah- ha - ha! (Sinister laught)._

The problem was, _this wasn't nice._ And what Santana devised would be hard to undo...Santana was about to unleash a revenge that almost cost her dearest friends _everything._

**XOXOXOXOXOX**

"Okayyyyy,_ listen up_ peeps! We have more rewrites!" Artie called out.

Quinn arched her eyebrows. "Rewrites? I didn't know anything about rewrites?"

Artie looked apologetic.

"I'm sorry Quinn, you've just been so busy with Rachel just getting into town, for her hiatus to film this- we thought it best not to bother you with details, right now."

"You don't want to bother _the author_ with rewrites, Artie? What the fuck?"

Artie rubbed his eyes, under his glasses.

Honestly, this had been more challenging than he had let on. Act I & Act II were filmed, Act III was the only delay, because of Rachel's schedule. Now, the film was going to fall slightly further behind, because of this. He didn't need Quinn getting uncharacteristically prima donna on his ass.

Truthfully, he had expected that from Rachel. Not his homegirl. Unexpectidly, it was_ Rachel_ who intervened. The New York Diva, recognizing when Quinn was going to loose her shit, grabbed her by the arm and pulled her off to the side. Rubbing her wife's temples, she said, "Calm, Quinn, calm."

Quinn breathed out. "They have_ no right_, Rach!"

Rachel looked at her sadly. "Actually, Quinn, you sold the film rights. They, in fact, have every right to "spice it up," or whatever the issue is."

Quinn felt tears spilling from her eyes. It was her life story, her written work, her part, her love story...

...and she had given _someone else_ permission to fuck with it.

Artie would patiently explain to Quinn, now that the first 2/3 of the movie was essential complete, and fantastic, the suits at the studios had screened parts of them, and were now a little worried that Act III was a little to ... sedate. Too settled.

"What the fuck, Artie, isn't that the point? I AM settled!"

Artie nodded. "And we're all very glad for that, Quinn. Which makes it all the harder to sell Act III. You're about as exciting as a Stationwagon."

Quinn huffed. "But that's the story! Rachel and I finally became 'settled.' We came full circle, that's the whole fucking point-"

Artie interrupted. "I know Quinn, give me a little credit, here. Look, they aren't going to touch you and Rachel. That's sacrosanct. It's just...concerned were raised."

"Concerns? What concerns?"

"I think someone has raised the issue that, well, this movie will be uneven in the absence of - well, fleshing out the other dramatic parts of your life in Act III."

"Who? Who the fuck would 'raise that issue,' Artie? There are _no other_ dramatic parts of my life!"

Artie raised his eyebrows and laughed. "Quinn, I thought you were the master of denial back when you first got in that wheelchair...then again, when you were denying how you felt for Rachel...but **this** may take the cake. Do you realize you just told me YOU have NO drama in your life?" Artie doubled over, laughing.

Quinn stopped dead in her tracks, mid-rant, and she started laughing. She chased him in his wheelchair, to whip him, as she had so many times before. Once, when rehearsing for the stage version of "Shell," Rachel reprimanded Quinn when their immature "tag" rant got too boisterous, and Q knocked Artie on his side, spilling out of his chair, scraping both knees. It took Quinn and Rachel both to load him back up into his chair.

_"Quinn," She admonished. "He's the director. Don't make him look bad like that."_

_"Oh, give me a fucking break, Rach. He didn't look bad. Slow, maybe! Look, maybe Artie wants to feel normal, and like the rest of us. We all fall down sometimes when playing tag or touch football, don't we?"_

_"Well, I don't play touch football. My-"_

_"-nose. I know, Rach. Look," Quinn said, explaining gently to her bride. "He's not porcelain. He won't break. And honestly, I'm pretty sure he could kick most of our asses. So don't feel sorry for him, Rach."_

_"Truth!" Artie said, giving Quinn a fist bump, and a smile, as he wheeled past, to get some first aid from the nurses station for his bleeding knee. He threw a coffee cup that bounced off Quinn's head.._

_"I'll get you, Fabray!"_

_"Yeah, right!" She shouted back._

_Beth had overheard this exchange between her mother and step-mother. Chalk it up to one more revelation about Quinn Fabray, Beth thought to herself. The apple does not fall far from the tree, she mused. _

_Funny that she would deny that very statement, a few years later._

Here, in the present, Quinn pulled out of her revere. Artie was pulling no punches, and making no excuses. He once again was the miracle worker, and had talked Quinn off the ledge.

This was a good thing, as Rachel was essentially M.I.A.; she wouldn't be around much due to her rigorous schedule on her unexpected Broadway hit and current starring vehicle. She was doing 4 days on her Broadway show then would fly to LA for three days of filming. She was being run ragged, and Quinn didn't want to burden her, more than what was absolutely necessary. The L.A. film crew was doing its best to accommodate her schedule, but it was definitely towards the end, and people were ready to be done.

And Artie was right. Come what may, she had sold the rights away. It wasn't a bad thing, to add some scenes that didn't have Rachel in them, in order to flesh out the ... completeness of her life, and not have "dead" filming time because Rachel wasn't there. As she flipped through the tentative confidential draft of the rewrites, she bit down her pride, and acknowledged ...they were good.

It fleshed out her relationship more with her children...especially Beth. While Quinn was alarmed that they took some serious dramatic liscence with Beth's character, it was interesting, and would be a challenge. Besides, this movie was really about Act II anyway...this was more of an epilogue, really.

"Shitty that the actress who would have been perfect to play Beth is already obligated." Artie said, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"I know, right? _That_ actress is too busy portraying ME to portray herself. God, this getting weird."

They both laughed.

"Who rewrote this? It's not bad."

"No, it isn't, it isn't bad." He agreed.

"Good concepts."

"Yep."

They looked at each other. "But, the, well... _the dialogue._.."

**_"Sucks_**," Artie said, simultaneously with Quinn.

Q laughed. "I was going to say 'stilted,' but I think "sucks" is probably more appropriate."

"Well, zero dark thirty doesn't go live for this script until shooting starts at 0800, Quinn. Give it a crack. See if you can fix it by midnight."

"Midnight? It's already 3pm, Artie!"

"You turning down a challenge, Fabray?"

"Never, A squared. Never." She would try...try to fix the script, which would open some wounds to the quick, and try to have a positive attitude that someone changed the focus that wasn't her. She promised her friend that she would _try_ go into shooting the next day with an open mind.

**XOXOXXOXOXOXXO**

Beth and Lea were laughing, as they pulled into the soundstage. Most of principle filming was done, they just had a few scattered reshoots here and there, as they had scheduled today. They had two reschoots to do, and Beth had some voice over work to day as well. The advantage of falling in love while filming is that the love story was absolutely beautiful, and the chemistry between the two was undeniable.

They knew Artie felt he had a "scorcher" on his hands.

However, this was all through third-hand, Beth and Lea had not heard much from him, of late. He was letting the AD's do all the reshoots and had delegated a lot of the follow-up; word on the street was Act III was proving to be very challenging. Beth knew this to be true, because she hadn't talked to her mom in over five days since it started, which was unlike the compulsive Quinn she had come to know and love.

The only thing Lea had heard was a brief text from Artie, that was kind of unintelligible, mentioning re-writes & over the top casting?And that it was going to be water cooler buzz all the way to the close of oscar season balloting. What Lea didn't realize is he was being deliberately vague..._on purpose._ He** had** to get through principal photography, he could not handle any drama whatsoever that would delay this further. And Lea in this situation would equate to drama. His theory would prove preiscent that morning when Beth and Lea pulled in to the studio parking lot on day five.

"The drama" began early when Beth noticed the color vanished out of Lea's face.

"Lea? You okay?"

Lea stammered, as she cleared her throat. "It's ..Ohmigod, why? _What the fuck is_.. It- it's **her.**" she said, pointing to a car.

"That's a car, Lea. That's not a 'her'." Beth said, calmly.

"Yes it is. It's **_her_** car."

Beth's stomach dropped. "_Her_, her? Like, as in...the _sexsexsex_ her?"

Lea cleared her throat nervously.

"Yes. My first girlfriend. It would appear.._.she's here_."

Beth felt like throwing up.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"LQF, _**how** could you not tell me_?" Beth was all kinds of furious, making like a heat-seeking missile for her mother.

Quinn cocked her eyebrow.

"-I mean,_ Lea's old girlfriend?_ Really? This doesn't strike you as , you know, a detail worth mentioning to me?"

"Beth, do you think_ I knew_? I actually just found out today that she was Lea's ex, and that was only because I mentioned to her that you were coming in today for reschoots and she should meet you for some field study! She went white as a ghost, and told me then!" Quinn hissed.

"What?"

"Oh, calm down, Beth. I didn't withhold anything from you! Look, if _you_ didn't know, how the hell do you think I would know? You're more plugged into these sorts of things Han I am! And it's not like she was volunteering that type of information to me, beforehand!""

Beth huffed.

"Quite frankly, Beth, I'm glad she didn't. It would have really colored my lens, you know. I wouldn't have gotten to know her as I have...and she is a lovely lovely woman." Quinn had been filming the new scenes for three whole days, and declined to mention the identity of her new co-star to Beth. Actually, she had mentioned it once - when complaining about the rewrites, and the fact that they were doing some intense shooting, and the fact it gave Rachel and excuse to stay in New York and continue to perform her Broadway role and not enlist the understudy.

So Quinn was grouchy, in a sex draught, and_ without Rachel._ The new cast member, although younger than Quinn by about ten years, hit it off with her from the start. Quinn lone comment about her new co-star was that she was "fucking hot as shit, though," as condolences to having to do the stupid rewrites and be Rachel-less.

Beth grimaced with the memory.

Her mother's new new co-star? The "hot" one?

**_ Dianna Elise Agron._**

The actress that would be portraying the character of Quinn's daughter.

_Her. __Beth_.

Quinn's daughter.

A bad TMZ clip was running through her head: _ The actress who, in real life, fucked Beth's girlfriend first, would be playing her girlfriends current lover. Which actress? You know, the one who took her virginity...well, her lesbian virginity, anyway._

Beth's head was spinning. And her own mother called her rival "hot as shit."

Where the fuck _was_ Lea, anyway?

**XOXOXOXOXOXOX**

The backlot was essentially empty under the canopy cover of their soundstage. It was there a girl found another girl, reading.

"Hello...Di."

"Hi, Lea." The taller blonde seemed not at all surprised to see Lea; she acted like it was the most normal thing in the world that they exchanged pleasantries, here, today.

"How's your part of shooting going?"

Dianna shrugged. Even doing the most simple mannerism, like shrugging, seemed absolutely _regal_ when she did it. "Okay, I guess. I feel sort of like I did when we started Glee, you know,sort of late to the party."

Dianna had been the last one cast in 2008, and a few of them, like Lea and Jenna, already knew each other well.

"I'm sure you'll do fine, just like you did then." Lea said, trying to keep her voice even.

"Well, I don't have my own personal social director, this time." Dianna smiled, wanly. "But, I'm making out okay, I think. Quinn is.._.wow_."

"Yeah, I know. Wow, huh?"

"She's lived like, twenty lives."

"At least."

On the surface, their interactions did seem to be really_ civil._

Appearances, however, can be deceiving. It completely belied the tumultuous breakup, the nasty words, and the deep heartbreak that had preceded today's civility. Lea sat down, next to Dianna. She closed her eyes taking in the unique smell of the woman she once knew so well. Upon opening, she was startled to see the hazel eyes staring back at her, almost to her soul.

Lea cleared her throat, before speaking. "It's _uncanny,_ you know."

"What is?"

"The resemblance...between you...and my girlfriend."

"_Your girlfriend_," Dianna paused, showing only the faintest crack in her veneer. "That being one Doctor Beth Lucille Corcoran, M.D.?_"_ Dianna said with a grin.

"The one and only."

"Well, you're not the_ first_ to mention the resemblance. Quinn freaks out about it, every day, then she gets her coffee, settles down, and gets over it." Dianna flashed her easy grin, gazing out the window.

"Well, if the mom sees it, it must be true."

"Don't forget the girlfriend. If the _girlfriend_ sees it, it's double dog true."

Lea looked down, finding something very interesting on the floor to stare at. It was the blonde that broke the uncomfortable silence that had developed.

"She seems really incredible, you know."

"Who? Quinn?"

"No, not Quinn. I mean,_ yes,_ she is, but, I meant ..."

_"Beth_." Lea said softly. "_Well_, she..." Lea looked carefully at Dianna. Lea's eyes always communicated so much, and Dianna knew this about her. Its why she sucked at poker. That, and she had the attention of a gnat for math and probability.

"Lea," The blonde said, rubbing her arm, gently. "It's _okay_. It's okay to be in love with her._ I get it._ I'm **glad,** actually, that you...figured your issues out."

Dianna glanced out of the window again.

"What do you keep looking at, Lady Di?"

"Look yourself. I can't believe you didn't realize it. You can see the Paramount studio from here."

"_What_?" Squealed Lea. She hopped off the ledge and raced over to the window. Standing on tiptoe, she proclaimed, "You can, Di! Come see! _Look!_"

"I _know_," the blonde said, amused, as she walked up slowly behind the brunette. Standing directly behind her, she stopped and stood behind Lea. Lea could feel her body heat. Leaning down to the smaller woman, Di pointed slightly west. "There's where we gave our blood, sweat, and tears, Lea. And there's our bulletin board, _remember_? Where you and I first saw ourselves, for the first time. Remember, when we pulled over and did the "Glee L" on the strip?"

Lea turned to face the blond. They were standing close enough, really, to _kiss._

_"Of course_ I remember, Di. That's one of those things you never forget." The smaller woman said, in the smallest of voices.

"Promise me, that no matter how _wonderful_ it gets with Dr. Wonderful, you won't forget. _Promise you won't forget_...me."

Lea couldn't believe her ears.

How could she ever forget...how could anyone forget...their first time?

_**2008-09:**_

_"Are you sure you don't want to go out...with everyone, tonight?" The blonde asked, dubiously. "I mean, you should enjoy the fact you were the star of a pilot that was just on television!"_

_Lea hoisted another slippery nipple to her lips and drank, saying something unintelligible._

_"What?" Dianna said, cracking up._

_"It's an ensemble, Di. There are no stars."_

_"Yeah right. It might not have your name above the title yet...but it will."_

_Lea ignored the blonde prophet while she licked the bottom of her glass. "So good!" She murmured._

_Dianna felt heat rush to her cheeks, watching Lea's tounge flick the glass indecently. She imagined what that tounge could do...and she felt that heat shoot somewhere else, a little more indecent..._

_"Um, we do have more, you know."_

_"Which is one of the many reasons I love your apartment, so! You know, I didn't ask...do you want to go out with everyone?"_

_Dianna snorted. "When do I ever want to go out with 'everybody.'"_

_"Never, Miss Nose-In-A-Book." Lea confirmed._

_"Besides, I'm not the star of the show...you are."_

_"I am not! What do you not understand about the word 'ensemble'?'"_

_"Yeah, it's just a much an ensemble as Spring Awakening was an ensemble...Ensemble my ass." Dianna mumbled._

_Lea turned to her friend with a quickness unexpected in someone so tipsy. "What did you say?"_

_"Uh..."_

_"You said it! You said, Spring Awakening! I knew it...I **knew** you'd seen it!"_

_"I..."_

_"Admit it!"_

_"So, what if I did? Yeah, I saw it...like a year ago or so." Dianna scowled, defensively._

_"Why did you lie and tell me you'd never seen me in anything before?" Lea hammered._

_"Because...Because... " Dianna said, uncharacteristically floundering._

_Because I have not been able to think about anything but your delicious breasts since I saw them, so fucking perfect, and naked on the stage. Because that play did bad things to me... I have dreamed about filling you...being with you, for hours on end, as a result of that play._

_."..Because I didn't want you to get a big head, Lea. Well, bigger, anyway."_

_Lea stuck her tounge out at the blonde._

_"Very mature! Okay, shrinky dink, last chance," she said, as she sat down next to her. "Do you want to go out tonight or...stay in?"_

_"Stay in, of course, Lady Di!"The boysterous brunette replied. "Besides, 'everyone' is right ... here." In her mildly inebriated state, she slapped her hand on Dianna's thigh, causing her to jump and spill her own drink._

_"Oh shit! I'm so sorry, Lady Di..." She started using her maupin to dry her off . She was drying to dry the blonde's sun dress, rubbing her legs..._

_Her stomach..._

_Dianna's **breasts.**.._

_Lea caught her breath, as she felt two strong arms wrap around her waist, gripping her. Lea's hands, still alight on the blonde's wet clothing overlying her breasts, felt herself being pressed into the wall._

_In a much deeper and guttural voice, Dianna began a whisper into Lea's right ear. Just the feral nature of it sent shivers' down the smaller girls' spine._

_"I mean it, Lea. Last chance. Because if you don't take it now, I promise...you won't be taking it later. Guaranteed."_

_She could feel herself pressed against the other woman, touching her everywhere. finally, she freed up her hands enough to wrap around the taller woman's waist. She snuck it upwards, gripping the hair tightly and pulling Dianna's face closer to her own._

_Lea almost didn't recognize the sound of her own throaty voice. "As I said before...I want to ...stay in, tonight, Dianna. Is that clear enough for you?"_

_Leaning over, Dianna whispered, "**Crystal** clear." Those were the last words Lea heard before Dianna finally brought her lips down, hungrily, meeting the plump red ones that were waiting, desperately, to be kissed..._

**_TBC_**


	22. The Paradox of The Blonde Woman

**Story: I'm Not Your Rebound**

**Characters: **Lea/Beth; Demi/Tristan; Quinn/Rachel (Established Faberry); past Achele

**Rating: **equal opportunity ratings. Ranges from PG-M

**Disclaimers:** Don't own Glee, the Characters, the actors playing the characters, the Star Waggoner trailers, Don't own the SATs, any colleges in the east. This is purely non profit here.

**A/N:** I can't believe I was so negligent as to NOT give a shout out to **Spr1ngAwoke** for the reference help and ideas last chapter...so seriously, thanks for your good ideas! (Holy crap on a stick, I'm going to lose the deed now to Muccino's Italian Trattorea...just watch. Don't piss off the deed lady)

Thanks to all who have weighed in...I know, I know, bringing in Dianna introduces a whole level of fucking mess. While I know the story arc, you all are going to HATE ME for a few chapters. I'm telling you now. Just wait though, it will get better. Promise. I'm a firm believer that everyone deserves their happy ending...as long as it doesn't come at the expense of someone else. And we all need a Demi in our lives to worry with us...

**Chapter: The Paradox of Eubulides: The Hooded Man as the Blonde Woman.**

Lea was frozen in her tracks, as she looked out of the window. So much anger, hurt, pain...such a waste. She looked at the blonde that she was practically nose to nose with, and she took a breath.

"I...I...God, Di. What do I say?"

"Honestly, what can you say?" Dianna said, sadly. "There's nothing to say, or that's required of you."

"I look at you, and _I feel_..." She trailed off, not finishing.

The taller blonde scanned the face of the woman, standing so close to her. She was clearly in torment; Dianna sighed.

"It is the classic logical paradox of Eubulides of Miletus , Lea."

"The_ who da of what_?"

Dianna took a step back, to in order to diffuse the charged situation, and she ran her hand through her hair.

_Just like Beth,_ Lea noted.

After a beat, she said, "Eubulides was a fourth century philosopher who re-discovered logical paradoxes, and is up there in the pantheon of important philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, and so forth."

"Well, you know me, I'm more of a Barbara Streisand kind of philosopher." Lea chuckled.

"Actually, you follow the philosophy of Lea Michele Safarti, in my experience, and_ no one else's_." Dianna said, with a bite.

Lea grimaced.

"I'm sorry. That was uncalled for." Dianna looked away, and gathered herself. "I've forgiven you. It's just hard not to backtrack, sometimes, and to be a little bitter."

Lea moved forward, not thinking, capturing the blonde gently in her arms. Lea moved forward, and just like that, she was _hugging_ her. _Really_ hugging her.

Lea said, gently. "Bitter doesn't look good on my pretty blonde."

Unexpectedly, Dianna started crying, as though that kindness stung her. "I'm not **your** pretty blonde, anymore," she said.

However, instead of pushing her away, Dianna gripped her; she wrapped her arms completely around Lea, holding tight, letting her tears fall on Lea's back as they stood there, immobile, holding each other.

"_I know_." Whispered Lea. "I think that job is going to be forever taken by someone else, and I'm sorry...I'm just, so, so sorry..."

She closed her eyes, and clutched Dianna tighter, when she felt the beautiful blonde start to sob, Lea hated herself. Lea hated feeling like this. She_ hated_ hurting this woman...but there was no other way for them; Lea was always _hurting_ her. Always apologizing. Always hating herself for wanting something...else. Their therapist constantly said they needed _clear boundaries_, and clearly, this was not in the best interests of said "clear boundaries", by any stretch of the imagination.

They stayed like that, for what seemed like forever, with the backlot of Paramount taunting them in the distance.

Dianna's tears finally slowed, and she pulled apart from Lea. She scanned the face of the smaller woman. "You always were my weakness, Lea." She took a breath, collecting herself, which she did; but their arms remained wrapped around each other, nonetheless. Lea closed her eyes, as she felt Dianna's fingers running through her hair, tucking a loose strand behind her ear.

Lea continued to hold her, while the blonde finished her explanation. "So, Eubulides...well. He is credited with four of the most discussed arguments in any philosophical thought: the liar paradox, the sorites paradox, the paradox of the hooded man, and the paradox of the horned man. You are living the _paradox of the hooded man_, Lea, except maybe for you we should call it the 'blonde woman', since that seems to be your central theme."

Lea chucked. "Tell me about this paradox, Dianna. It sounds...interesting."

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"Hey, Demi, have you seen Lea?" Beth yelled, across to the lot to her friend on the other side.

The interesting thing about being true friends, is that shit goes under the bridge. Or water. Or whatever the analogy actually is...its applicable, here. If Beth and Demi were males, they would have beat each other senseless and then it would have been "all good" in a 45 minute stretch. However, they weren't male, and so resultant, in the words of Auntie Snix, "that shit gets _drawn out." _ They had to angst and eat three pints of Ben and Jerry's together over a bottle of vodka, making an ill advised decision to paint their toenails AFTER the vodka.

They bonded further, hung over the next morning, after buying Lea a new bedspread after their realization they accidentally painted IT in addition to their toenails, and Lea was so mad she wasn't talking to either one of them until presented with a new bedspread.

The bottom line, however, with true friends, it's "all good." Demi was one such friend to both of them.

So they found themselves here, on the lot, just like it was when they first started on Shell. Demi smiled at her friend, and yelled back, _"Yeah!"_ Pointing north, she continued, "I saw her headed off to Building H, I think!"

"Thanks, Demi! Are you still having lunch with us later?"

However, Demi wasn't saying anything. Her face had gone almost totally white, which Beth noticed curiously from all the way across the hardtop.

Demi's mind was putting it together...

_Building H._

Building H, the same location where Demi now remembered she saw _Dianna_ entering earlier this morning.

Dianna.

And Lea.

_Dianna and Lea._

**mierda!**

Demi gritted her jaw. "**Yo! Beth!** Hold your skinny ass up for a sec!" She started jogging over to her friend. "Hey, girl, I'll come look with you, cause...um. Lea owes me twenty bucks and she forgot to give it to me this morning!"

Demi trotted over to Beth, slapping her on the back.

Beth looked amused. "What, the residuals on "X Factor" not paying you anymore?"

Demi made a face. "Times is _tough,_ sistah!" Linking her arm with Beth's, she finished, "Let's go find that midget of yours, since you've misplaced her again."

Beth didn't notice the look of worry fall across Demi's countenance as they marched off to the infamous Building H.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"So, in this paradox, the concept of _"to know"_ can be truly faulty. Even within the same piece of reasoning." Dianna spoke melodically, while her hands wrapped into Lea's silky brown hair, fingers stroking it, caressing it; she inhaled the woman below her. Dianna looked down into the eyes of the shorter woman. "It's very interesting, really."

"Uh-huh," Acknowledged Lea, eyes hooded slightly with the feel of Dianna's fingers, running a hypnotizing path through her hair.

Dianna's hands were now stroking a path down Lea's back, and she took a step closer. This was obviously too intimate, but neither moved.

_"You still feel familiar_, Lea." Dianna said, whispering. The blonde fluttered her eyes closed, squeezing them shut, as she was suddenly overcome with the memory. "So familiar..." She exhaled.

_**Circa 2008-09:**_

_Lea had no idea how they got into Dianna's bedroom; she couldn't remember that detail to save her life if she had to. She didn't care, she just wanted this to happen, faster._

_She felt the hungry, bruising lips of the experienced blonde on top of her, pushing her back on top of her bed._

_"Lay down." She said, firmly._

_Lea caught her breath as she looked up at the blonde, towering above her, almost unrecognizable with the look of desire and lust in her eyes. Lea had no sooner laid down, when she felt firm, strong hands at her waist, gripping her jeans, unwrapping them; roughly, Dianna yanked them down, and tossed them to the side._

_She was feral. She was hungry. She was ready to feast...on Lea._

_"No panties?" She said, in her smoky voice. "How convenient." _

_Dianna's hands fingered the bottom of Lea's shirt, while she cast a steely gaze at the tiny brunette below her. With an insolent grin, she pulled the shirt off in one motion, and she was on top of her...kissing...biting. Her hungry mouth was everywhere across Lea's perfect skin...over her chest, sucking on her shoulders, then biting her nipples underneath the bra that remained._

_"Ohhh..." Moaned Lea, her body starting to respond to the blonde, with a want previously unfamiliar to her._

_Dianna said nothing, just occasionally glancing at Lea's face to gauge her reaction. She spoke with her body. Dianna's mouth was everywhere, all at once; her tounge was deep in her mouth, establishing dominance; sucking and biting on her, pressing her body, against her naked frame, save for her bra._

_Suddenly, she stopped. _

_Lea looked up, confused. Dianna rose to her knees, still towering above Lea. She smiled, an almost malevolent smile, and then brought her hands down to stroke the Olive skin underneath her. Lea moaned. In deliberate and very sensuous motions, Dianna began removing Lea's clothes, piece by piece, while Lea watched, her breath caught._

_Lea watched her as the skilled blonde pulled off her skirt...her under ware, her sleeveless top...her mouth went dry when she unhooked her bra and folded it neatly on top of the rest of the clothes she had put to the side in a neat stack as well. Lea's brain short circuited as she took in fully the Goddess before her._

_Her body was **perfect.** _

_The dimming remains of the daylight was seeped in through the drawn curtains of Dianna's apartment, backlighting the towhead beauty perfectly. She was a Goddess, an absolute Goddess. People just don't look like that, in real life, Lea thought to herself. And in this position, towering over her, while Lea lay dependent underneath and almost completely naked, prostrate below her, she wanted nothing more than for Dianna to take her, and to force her to become..**hers.** _

_Lea had never been with a woman before, never even really considered it, until now. However, she ** did** know she never wanted anything SO much as she did in this moment, but to make love and fuck this beautiful Goddess in front of her, tonight. She knew, just knew, that she would do whatever the blonde wanted her to do...Lea wanted that. Badly._

_"Please, Di..." She begged, licking her lips._

_Dianna cocked her eyebrow, still saying nothing. Straddling Lea at the waist, she leaned over her torso, not saying anything, and ensured their trunks did not touch while she continued her endeavors. In one skilled movement, she reached below Lea, and removed the last garment of clothing left of the flawless Olive skin...her bra._

_Propping back up, once upright, Dianna held the clothing item, regarding it intently, in her hands, and smiled. Her fingers ran over the material, while she murmured something. Lea watched her, as the blonde again leaned over her, this time, to raising Lea's hands above her head. Dianna softly kissed her arms as she did this; her breasts were rubbing against Lea's face while she leaned forward._

_Lea's breath caught._

_Then she felt an unexpected sensation. She felt her wrists snapped together and a firm clinching, biting them together. Dropping her head back in order to see, she saw that Dianna had bound them together...with her** own** bra. _

_"What?" Lea started._

_"Shhhh." Admonished Dianna gently, putting her body fully on top of Lea, pressing it against hers. In that moment, Lea's mind exploded. She had never felt anything so good, ever, of the sensation of a naked Dianna pressed completely against her own naked flesh. Dianna started rocking against her, gently, and she though her brain would spontaneously combust._

_"You feel so fucking incredible, Di..." Lea gasped._

_"This is nothing...compared to what I'm going to make you feel, soon..." Dianna warned._

_Lea wanted desperately to take her arms and feel the back of the woman above her, but Dianna had apparently hooked her bound wrists to a metal hitch of some type at the head of her bed that Lea hadn't noticed before. It was surprisingly snug._

_However, that was quickly forgotten as Diannna's fingered had snaked between her extremely wet folds, and found the evidence of her desire...her fingers were laving back and forth, flicking against the swollen __clot at the top...spreading the juices out, rubbing them smoothly across her opening, that was beginning to gape, hungry, just a little..._

_"Oh,** God,** Dianna..."_

_Dianna's mouth was suddenly on her own, tongue forcing entrance, while her fingers continued their tortuous stroking below. Lea had never felt so aroused, and so desired, as she did in this moment. Her nipples were taut with want, her center **throbbed,** already. And still, Dianna refused to change, to stop tormenting her, as the helpless brunette writhed underneath her._

_"Please, Dianna. Please..."_

_"Please what?" She said, amused._

_"I don't know...please...just, God! Something!"_

_Lea threw her head back into the pillow, arching her chest,and straining her errect nipples upwards. She let out a gasp as Dianna's mouth found a nipple, hungrily, and sucked it, hard. Her fingers, below, still continued on their sinuous path below, winding through Lea's dripping folds, causing her to buck._

_Dianna lifted her head, and amused look on her face at the woman coming undone below her. _

_Lea eyes were closed, as though she had to block out some of the external stimuli pounding her body. She was overwhelmed with feeling... and emotion... and primarily, desire. "I don't know, **I don't know.**..I've never been with a woman, before."_

_Dianna's finger stopped for a fleeting moment, but quickly resumed their tortuous path, stroking a little harder._

_"Never? You've **never** had sex with a woman?"_

_Lea's eyes snapped open. Meeting Dianna's with a touching sincerity, she said simply, "Never. Dianna...I've," she swallowed. "I've never even kissed a woman, until today."_

_Dianna pressed down, hard, on Lea's bead, causing her to groan audibly. _

_With fervor, Dianna mounted the bound woman's body, placing hers fully on top of Lea's. Dianna's slammed down, putting her full weight on the small brunette. She ran her hands, sensuously , up the sides of Lea's body, and bowed her head into the space between Lea's head and shoulders, as she pressed their cores together, mounting Lea, and rocking into her._

_They both gasped with the sensation._

_"**Fuck**..." Groaned Dianna._

_Lea looked vulnerable gazing up at Dianna. Dianna looked down at her, with something new in her eyes, almost possessed. She kissed Lea with a hard passion, thrusting her tonuge deep into Lea's mouth, establishing dominance. Lea practically came with that gesture alone._

_"God!" Lea gasped, panting for air._

_"Mmmm." Acknowledged Dianna minimally, as she continued to press their centers together. The feeling of Dianna's bare pussy, flush against her own, grinding** wantonly**...Lea couldn't stand it. It was so intense. She could feel something building up in her, she was close. _

_**So** close._

_She felt Dianna's mouth, again, hungry on her breasts. Her mouth was demanding in its ministrations... sucking, biting...practically nursing her. It felt so fucking incredible. **She** felt so fucking incredible. God, this woman was sex personified. Lea felt like she was going to explode._

_"Don't come yet. Wait until I enter you..." Dianna said, in a breathy voice, low. "Wait until I take you, that way, for your first time, before you come. I want you to look at me."_

_"I...I don't think I'm going to last much longer. You feel so good, Dianna."_

_"Then let me fuck you...**now**."_

_Dianna rose, hunched above the trembling woman, on the brink. _

_"**Look at me**, Lea." She commanded._

_Lea did as she was instructed. Dianna's eyes were...hot. Possessed. She looked like she was a woman on a mission._

_"I'm going to** take you,** Lea," She said, deliberately, with a flick to Lea's __clit, causing her to tremor. "I'm going to **fuck you,** so hard, every day...you're going to be mine, Lea. You'll have no choice. No one else will matter...the only thing that will matter is us, here, in this bedroom...do you understand?"_

_She was rubbing harder, and Lea's pelvis was bucking, uncontrollably._

_"Please, yes, God! Just please! Dianna, just...**please.**.." She was begging. And Dianna loved that._

_She pressed the desperate brunettes bead, just a little harder._

_"**Do** you? Do you understand? Once I take you...we've crossed a line. Once I enter you, and fill you...you're **mine**, after that. You've become mine. Lea, understand? **Mine.** Lea, do you ... want that?" She said, looking down._

_Lea looked at her, **really** looked. Despite her obvious formidable presence, and her clear dominance over her in this situation, Dianna still looked so ... vulnerable. _

_And Lea **wanted** her. So much._

_"Yes," She breathed. "I want that, more than anything, Dianna. I do. I consent, yes, I do...I ... I **want** to be yours-" __Lea wouldn't finish, as she was silenced by the sudden interruption of Dianna's three fingers thrusting into her with such a pounding force, entering deep inside her core, thrusting furiously; Lea gasped with the overwhelming sensation._

_She moaned, uncontrollably, as she heard Dianna almost growling above her. Dianna had an intensity she had never seen in her, before today. Lea felt lost in the heat, in the sensation, the intense culmination of their lovemaking. Nothing mattered, but the fire between her legs, and her hips were rocking wildly, out of control...it wouldn't take long._

_Dianna pinned down Lea's pelvis, holding it steady, while curling her fingers up to hit the rough spot inside of her. Lea screamed her name out loud, with the sudden change and intense sensation._

_"Oh,** Fuck!** Fuck...Dianna! Please don't stop!"_

_"Don't stop ...**what**?" Growled Dianna, thrusting harder. She bowed her head down, between Lea's legs, capturing her bead in her mouth. She sucked it furiously, while flicking the swollen clit with her tongue. Lea lost all control._

_"Oh, **fuck!** Yes! Dianna, please God, don't stop fucking me...**there." **_

_Lea's body was out of control, she was out of control. She only cared about getting that woman deeper inside her. _

_Begging the blonde topping her, she panted, "Please...please... please fuck me...God, yes! Just like that! Oh, **fuck**...fuck! Ohhhhh...!"_

_Lea screamed out the name of the woman above her, the woman she gave her consent to this afternoon._

_The woman who made her feel something she never knew she was capable of before today._

_The woman who would** always** be her first._

_Lea came, hard, around Dianna's three fingers, with a mess of fluid and arousal. Dianna continued to hammer into her; in and out, in and out, thrusting, regardless. __And she continued, unbelievably, to come still, under the methodical thrusts of her skilled fingers with the persistent sucking of her mouth, refusing to relinquish its place on her bead. _

_Lea called out her name, over and over, biting her shoulder, because her arms were bound. __Lea trembled, shaking, while having the longest orgasm of her entire young life. Her body was a mess of lights, emotion, and disorganized movement; she seized out of control with the almost painful pleasure of such a long and continuous orgasm. _

_Dianna wouldn't stop, and it seemed to go on forever, until **Dianna** stopped._

_Above Lea, Dianna pulled her fingers out of Lea's spent center, bringing them into view of the disorganized vision of the woman underneath her. Attempting to focus, Lea watched, while the smirking blonde placed them in her mouth, and sucked them, while Lea watched._

_"Mmmmm." Dianna said. "You taste like...heavean. I could get addicted to this taste."_

_And then, unceremoniously, the tiny brunette, fully sated in a way she had never been before, smiled. Lea closed her eyes..._

_...and passed out._

**_TBC_**


	23. The Paradox of Eublides, Part II

**Story: I'm Not Your Rebound**

**Characters: **Lea/Beth; Demi/Tristan; Quinn/Rachel (Established Faberry); past Achele

**Rating: **equal opportunity ratings. Ranges from PG-M

**Disclaimers:** Don't own Glee, the Characters, the actors playing the characters, the Star Waggoner trailers, Don't own the SATs, any makers of expensive tequila or vodka, any colleges in the east . This is purely non profit here. I don't even own a liquor licence for Muccino's! However, Our register of deeds is hopefully out registering our deed somewhere on the Great White Way for our coffee shop/museum. Come in and mention this ad and you will get $5 off your next meal! More things I don't own: Tequila Barrique de Ponciano Porfidio Añejo, Paramount studios, Anna Kendrick.

**A/N:** I know, I know...you see and combo of R/Q or L/D and your natural instinct is to push them together, ship 'em, buy the t-shirt, and call it a day. But I can't believe ye of little faith who would abandon Beth so quick! ;( So I finally figured it out = people would get mad if Quinn made even a guest appearance of one sentence or less on the Pezberry stories...its b/c they should be together and nothing else seems right...and so its better to just not have to deal at all. I get it. (Making sighing noises). Ryan, what did Dianna do that is really that bad? Please, resurrect her just as Ben and Jerry's did with White Russian!

**Chapter: The Paradox of Eubulides: Part II**

"So, how does the concept of this paradox work, Dianna?"

"Well, its not too complicated...so, take for example, your NYADA instructor...so, you know your NYADA professor; a person walks into the room with a hood on the head and you fail to recognize that it is your NYADA professor; so, following through, it results that you do not know your NYADA professor."

Lea looked at her, blankly.

"So, take Beth, for example, as the hood," Dianna said, voice lowering, dangerously. She leaned forward, pressing towards Lea.

Lea closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of Dianna.

"So, then, if Beth takes off the hood, who remains?** Me**, Lea. _You see **me**._ You thought you knew her, but you didn't...you see,Beth IS me."

" .Fuck."

Kicking in the door, entering in dramatic fashion, Beth entered filling the room. Demi was looking around like a crazed ferret, ensuring there wasn't anything…compromising.

"What kind of boosh-wah , nonsense, bush-league philosophical drivel is this? HELL no, crazy lady, Beth is _not _you! Seriously? Did you really say that bullshit?" Beth said, folding her arms. Demi breathed a sigh of relief that she didn't see two naked women rolling around on the floor...

Although, their positions were technically kind of compromising.

"Beth!" Lea said, gasping for air, as though she had been underwater.

Beth, however, was ignoring the shorter brunette. She saw only one thing: **red.** Red, and a blonde actress attempting to move in on HER girlfriend.

Walking towards them, with a purpose as though she was headed for the O.R., Beth turned to Lea.

"Hi, Babe." She said, and gave her a peck on the cheek.

She then wedged herself between them, her nose practically touching Dianna's. Secretly, she was relieved to note she was at least two inches taller than Dianna.

"I belive I am ythe older, and apparently, wiser template. You know, that is an incorrect application of the paradox. The paradox, Dianna, is about failure. It's about the apparent failure of the substitutivity of identicals. We are not interchangeable, you and I, nor can we be substituted. Your thinking is..._deeply flawed."_

Dianna cocked her head. "Not bad, Beth. Especially for a science nerd."

Lea wrapped her arm around Beth's, and said proudly, "A _Harvard educated_ science nerd."

Beth looked at her girlfriend, and smiled. "Well, the school-any school really –is kind of irrelevant, really, that doesn't teach you philosophy, babe. Philosophy is..."

"Experienced." Said Dianna, simultaneously with Beth's "Acquired."

They looked at each other with grudging acknowledgement. Then, they started move...one blonde would pace, the other would mirror the response. They were now moving in a small circle, circling _each other._ Their eyes were intense.

_"Wouldn't it just be easier if they stopped now, pissed on each others shoes, and we can all get on to lunch?"_ Demi whispered to Lea.

Lea attempted to discreetly laugh.

Lea's consideration was lost on the two blonds, engaged in what could only be described as the evolution of a sword-less sword fight .

Neither spoke, until Dianna said, "I'll give you this, _you are old._ But really, there is not one damn thing that's original about you, Beth."

"Really? I didn't know you knew me that well, _what-ever-your-name-is."_

"I don't have to."

"Well, that's pretty fucking arrogant. One thing..okay. Youngest and first female to be named as Chief Resident of Surgery at the House of God, Dianna. _I'd say that's pretty damn original."_

"If you'd let me finish, Beth, I was doing to conclude with caveating my statement with this, "She said, as she gestured In big, circling movements, she made a sweeping gesture between the three of them. "Human emotions, relationships, the whole bit. Not. Original."

"Okay, so, I say, "**Really**?" she then started gesticulating the very same motions Quinn had done just now, clearly mocking them. Beth finished while gesturing. "Um Chief Resident of Surgery..._still checking_. Yup. STILL_ original._"

"Again, I'm not talking about accompliments.. of which you have many. I talking about thoughts. I'm talking about feeling. Emotion. The need to feel someone...you may be OLDER, but that's all your are. You're certainly not original." She raised her head in superiority. "Name one thing that you have, Beth Corcoran, that wasn't first had by me?"

"Hmm, let's see. Oh yes. The **title** of _Lea's Girlfriend_ and NOT Lea's _'Bestie._' Um, let's see, the ability to see her, at will, without a therapist dictating to me what _normal boundaries_ are..."

"Beth!' Lea admonished.

Dianna looked stunned, momentarily, before her countance quickly dissolved into fuming. Even though she had been bating Beth and probably deserved it, it was hard_ not_ to feel sorry for her a little bit. It resonated, a little, how hurt the generally shy blonde was.

"I didn't do anything she didn't want..." growled Dianna, through gritted teeth.

Lea knew what that face meant, and alarms were going off. Danger was coming.

"Beth, let's just...get to lunch." Lea said, in an attempt to diffuse the situation.

Neither blonde would have it, however. They _wanted to_ fight.

"Really? Hissed back Beth, almost in parcel tongue. "_Really?_ Then why isn't she standing _next to you_, not me, Lady Di? If everything was so honkey-dorey, and all."

Somehow the two of them had managed to abut next to each other, standing nose to nose.

"Because….because other people got in the way."

"You really believe that, Dianna Agronsky?"

"Don't call me Agronsky. You don't have that right."

"And you don't have _the right_ to **come here,**" Beth was raising her voice now, "In to MY house, and talk to MY wife, do you understand?

"Fuck, you didn't invite me to the wedding, dawg!" Demi said, trying to break the ice.

"I mean…girlfriend."

"Really? You think you're the great love of Lea's life?" She snorted, and arched her eyebrows with a quiet superiority that was really irking Beth in this moment. She turned, walking away from Beth, putting some distance between them.

Lea thought to herself, noting how similar they really looked, she knew them so differently…Dianna's eyebrows arched, insolentely. Just like Beth's would, when _she_ was angry. However, Beth's eyes, although angry, would never betray her, would never be a warning indicator that a physical altercation was coming...

Facing Beth again, Di said, "You're the _better than nothing,_ Beth. You're the _rebound._ How does that feel?"

"It feels like you are one delusional crazy lady that I need to get pink papers for, that's what. _Really._ " Beth walked, slowly, deliberately, towards the blonde staring her down. Beth continued, "So there is no misunderstanding, Dianna, and no ambiguity, lets be clear: _I am NOT your rebound,_ Dianna. I am not an echo. I am, actually something that should frighten you, very, very much, if you had the intelligence to put it together..."

Beth's chest was heaving in time with Dianna's, unconsciously.

If a person were to walk past the enteryway in this exact moment, they would assume that Beth and Dianna were about to kiss, that's how much intimacy was between them right now.

One would assume a kiss would follow, given how close they were standing into the other.

"Tell me, Dr. Love. I'll bite. What are you?"

Beth smiled. "First, I'll acknowledge what you are. Yes, you may be the prototype, Dianna. The problem is, prototypes get obsolete. You know, deep down, who I am. I'm the next generation. Call me…Faberry 2.0."

_Obsolete?_ Dianna gritted her teeth.

Breaking the deathly silence, a voice said, "Oh yeah? Well, _I am number four!"_

Demi laughed. Lea hid a grin.

The blondes didn't move one facial muscle.

"God damn, I've been waiting, like, for the entire day to work that in " Said Demi, "and I don't even get one laugh? Tough fucking audience!"

"Its funny. " Lea said. "I thought it was, anyway."

"Bitches, you can stab each other in the parking lot, for all I care. But can we please go to fucking lunch? I'm hypoglycemic!" Demi lamented.

"C'mon, let's go,"Lea said, pulling Beth away like a rabid dog. "Dianna, you're coming too. You two can sit and glare at each other silently at lunch while Demi and I eat."

**XOXOXOXOXO**

Lunch was interesting, to say the least.

Halfway through, Dianna had a revelation. _"Oh, fuck_, I forgot! " Removing a plain brown package from her tote, she handed it to Beth. "Here. I'm supposed to give this to you, the first time I see you."

"What the fuck is it?"

"I don't know. I **do** know its not a bomb, cause I took it successfully through LAX from my flight from Georgia."

"Ooooh. This reminds me of the Batman episode where they open the package, purple and green smoke shoot out of it, then monkeys fly out of the box and rip off the jewelry store, while everyone sleeps from the gas!"

"Well, its allegedly from a family member of Beth's, so unless you're related to the Joker, I think we're okay." Dianna said, eating her tofu.

"Okay, _weird._ Why would my family member not know about this invention called the US Postal Service?"

Dianna shrugged. "I didn't ask. I just know it was a condition of my hire."

Beth, opening the box, tentatively, pulled out a bottle of Tequila Barrique de Ponciano Porfidio Añejo. _"Huh. _Limited edition, _Borrique Porfidio Tequlia._ Well, someone in "my family" has good taste and expensive taste. This is authentic."

"How did you know that, Beth?"

"I did a gas chromotography for some rich kid on a bottle in Organic Chemistry to prove for him, it was authentic."

"Nerd!" Proclaimed Lea.

"Hey...he paid me $200 bucks!"

Next, she removed from the box a nondescript envelope. It had no identifying descriptors or markings to identify who the sender or who the bearer of the gift was..._curious_, indeed.

While the other three were fondling her bottle, Beth opened the envelope and began to read. Immediately, she recognized her Aunt Santana's handwriting on the paper, distinctly. _Oh shit,_ she thought, _this is NOT going to be good…_

**_Dearest Beth Fabray,_**

**_One of my greatest responsibilities to you as your Godparent is to impart some important life lessons to you...so listen up:_**

**_Lesson Number One. I'll give it to you...clever Beth, clever. However, the important life lesson number one, dear, is actually this: ruthless always beats clever._**

**_Lesson Number Two: First loves are SO hard to forget, aren't they?_**

**_If you're reading this, it means my negotiations were successful and you are looking at the younger and unforgettably beautiful face of one Ms. Dianna Agron. Pretty, isn't she? Hard to forget THAT face._**

**_How the fuck this befell you is simple, really. The advantage of being the silent majority holder and legal advisor to your mother is that it has it's perks._**

**_So I say, lets test that little old Lesson Number Two...shall we? Let the Games Begin!_**

**_Regards, Santana_**

**_P.S. You're probably wondering why you have the $2,000 bottle of Tequila in hand. Well, if my theory proves at all correct, you're going to need a hell of a lot more than one lonely pint of fucking Ben and Jerry's._**

**_P.S.2: Lastly this is for Rachel and Shelby. I made a promise Shelby to be your Godparent and watch over you, and a promise to Rachel to be a better person. So here it is: if your Bobsey Twin turns out to be the Antichrist, and you don't ever envision getting your Wonder Twin powers activated, then you get a mulligan. Let me know, I will take care of it and return her to back from whence she came. Note: this offer doesn't stand, however, if its just because Lea chooses her over you. That is a non qualifier._**

**_In the end, I'm doing you a favor, Beth. You never know how strong a rope is, until you test it; and secondly, you hopefully will learn not to fuck with Santana Lopez again, especially when she's trying to help you. _**

**_Auntie Snix_**

**_Oh! PS3: If you end up not needing that Borrique Porfidio, your ass better bring that back to New York. So we're clear._**

Beth had done an extraordinary job of keeping her face neutral.

That was one thing Medicine had given her …the ultimate poker face. Although, in medicine, they don't call it a "poker face," they call it ,compartmentalizing appropriately.

She refolded the letter, and placed it carefully back into its simple envelope.

"Well, what the fuck, Dr. B? Who gave it to you?" Demi asked.

Instead of answering, she turned her eyes levelly to Dianna. "Who gave this to you? Beth asked, again very neutrally.

"It was with the papers I signed, when I signed the contract for this film."

"I see. " Her brain was working rapidly, you didn't know what was inside it, or what the contents of the letter said?"

"No, why would I care about your shit?"

Beth smiled to herself.

"Because… _Because, this present,"_ Beth sighed dramatically, "is apparently to the **two** of us. It is supposed to be used in a game today—between the Dianna and I only—of "I never" and "Twenty Questions."

"No fucking way." Dianna said, appalled.

"Well, I don't think we have a choice. You see, the bearer of this gift said that _you _would be summarily dismissed and released from this film, replaced by Anna Kendrick, and I would not get the 10% of the profits of the back end for Stacey's fund."

"What?" All three girls said, in unison.

"Someone, apparently, _really _wants us to play."

"How would they even know that you did, or didn't?" Demi said, skeptically.

"They said they have surveillance on us for the 24 hours following the gift. Apparently there is a sensor on the bottle that detected when it was exposed to air. Deal is off after that."

"Do you believe it?" Lea asked, concerned.

Beth leaned forward. She whispered. "_I do._ This person signed with a… a fingerprint…._using blood for the ink."_

_"Shit!"_ Said Demi.

"Double shit!" Said Lea. "Are they watching, right now?"

"I would presume so." Beth said, nervously.

Dianna stood up with her jaw set. "Well, ugly, I guess you're coming with me. Let's get this shit over with. Here's for the check." She threw money on the table, and started stomping off towards her rental car.

"I'll call you later. Lea, If I don't check in by 6pm, call the police."

Lea's eyes went wide.

Turning to face the other lunch goer, Beth said, "Demi, you know Spanish. Call officials if Dianna and I don't come back. Tell them this: Look for el coño astuto."

"What? _The Sneaky Pussy?"_

"Is that what that means?" Beth said, innocently.

Huffing, clearly irritated, Dianna barked back towards the table. "Come ON, Beth, let's go!"

"Wish me luck." Beth said, as she turned to head off towards her sudden new-found drinking companion, with their limited edition, $2,000 dollars worth of Blue Agave tequila awaiting them. As she marveled at her ability to improv, off the cuff, she hoped her instincts were correct in hatching this plan.

Because Dianna was kinda helter-skelter. She really could be _el coño astuto._

TBC


	24. Tequila!

**Story: I'm Not Your Reboundÿ**

**Characters: **Lea/Beth; Demi/Tristan; Quinn/Rachel (Established Faberry); past Achele; A Di/Beth/Tequila Bottle 3-way this chapter

**Rating: E**qual opportunity ratings. Ranges from PG-M

**Disclaimers:** Don't own Glee, the Characters, the actors playing the characters, the Star Waggoner trailers, Don't own the SATs, any makers of expensive tequila or vodka, any colleges on the East Coast. More things I don't own: Tequila Barrique de Ponciano Porfidio Añejo, Paramount studios, Anna Kendrick. The Biebs, Don't own any Tequila song rights of any sort, Unchained Melody, TMZ. This is purely non profit here. I don't even own a liquor licence for Muccino's! However, Our register of deeds is hopefully out registering our deed somewhere on the Great White Way for our coffee shop/museum. Come in and mention this ad and you will get $5 off your next meal!

**A/N:** Thanks for all the great suggestions. Wow, there's a LOT of Dianna love still out there. Awesome. This is YOUR chapter, people.

**Chapter: TEQUILA!**

It had to be the most uncomfortable drive in the history of mankind. Dianna driving, Beth riding shotgun, and a whole earful of silence. Not one single word had been said since lunch, outside of mandatory directions.

Dianna could tell Beth was brewing something up in her head. Pulling up to Beth's apartment, Dianna said, uncertain, "Am I coming in? Are we doing this...here?"

Beth shook her head, _no._

"I thought about that, Dianna, but, I think it would be better if we went…you know, somewhere public…but not_ too_ public. If whomever is watching us wants proof, wants to actually watch, and ensure we're doing these stupid games."

"Okay. Makes sense."

"But, if you hang on a sec, I can call a cab to pick us up, so you don't have to drive anywhere."

"That...might be best. I don't want a DUI arrest picture on TMZ."

"No shit! Listen, I'll just be...a sec, kay? I'm going to run inside, get office supplies, shot glasses, a gastric lavage kit…"

"_What_?" Dianna asked, incredulously.

Beth grinned, for the first time. "_Just kidding_. I was just checking to see if you were paying attention. Anyway…um...I'll just be back in a sec, okay?"

"Why don't I call the cab?"

"Fine. I'll be down quick." True to her word, Beth actually beat the cab downstairs, hopping in with the other blonde into the back of the vehicle.

"Holy shit! A doctor that's _on time!"_ Dianna teased.

"Don't get used to it, as I become more important in the profession..." Beth said, almost smiling. "_Here."_ She said, grudgingly, shoving a bottle of water in Dianna's hands.

"Why, thank you. That's almost nice_...almost_."

"Meh. Not nice, so much, as I _just don't want to be held liable_ for not providing resuscitation for your drunk and dehydrated ass, _later."_

"You assume I'll be drunk. I'm _very good_ at games, Beth."

_We'll see about that, Fake-Blondie._.. Beth thought to herself. Out loud, she said, "Okay, so what seedy bar should we hit up?"

Dianna shrugged. "Well, since its a mere _3:45 in the afternoon_, I imagine we'll have a pretty wide open field, Beth."

"You never know. That's when the afternoon crew gets lively, you know." She waggled her eyebrows.

"Ohmigod. You're kind of a dork, aren't you?"

"I am _absolutely_ a dork. Not once have I withheld that information from you." Beth grinned, a very charming grin.

She couldn't help it, but she was smiling a little bit, in response. So Dianna looked out the cab window, continuing to grin. With some reservation, she could honestly say she was _looking forward_ to this little challenge, for some reason. Without any rationale as to why, she suspected that she and Beth would be pretty damn good at _a caper._

**XOXOXOXOXOXO**

"Pablo, please, more lime, _for the love of God_!" Beth pleaded.

"_And all things holy!_" Dianna chirped in.

Pablo, their amused waiter, brought them a plate of limes. "I think I'm in love with Pablo!" Beth hissed, loudly, to Dianna.

"Me too._ We'll have to go Mormon_!"

Three shots in, they were already buzzed, to the amusement of the four regulars and two employees of the O.K. Cantina. "Okay," Beth said, trying to focus on one envelope in front of her. Ripping it open, she read the instructions. "Step 1. Fill out the answers to these questions. Turn them upside down, then proceed to step two."

The two blondes worked diligently, with some occasional giggles. Writing, erasing, re-writing, and an occasional swear word from Beth.

"Okay, what's step 2?"

"Step 2. Taking turns, one person will read the favorites category and guess what the answer will be. If you are correct. no shot. If you are NOT correct , 1 shot. If the person is caught lying, two shots."

"Ill go first."Dianna said.

"We could go simultaneously?" Beth offered.

"Right. Yes. And alternate reading aloud the category question."

"Fine. What the fuckever, lets get this going!"

Dianna cleared her throat. "Okay, question one. FAVORITE COLOR?"

Beth squinted her eyes. "Um, I'm guessing you're a pink kind of gal."

"Correct. Purple and pink. For you...okay, um. **Black?"**

"_NNNaa_! Survey says, Green! _Drink_, Agron!"

Beth read the next question after Dianna finished her shot. "Alrighty. FAVORITE MUSIC GROUP? Oh, fuck, I have no idea. One Direction?"

"Holy hell, NO! Radiohead! Drink, Beth."

"What's mine?"

Beth laughed, as she poured herself a shot. "The Three Tenors."

"Shut up. No, its the cast of "Glee," of course!"

"Awwww. Puke. Okay, next question: BIRTHDAY AND SIGN. You are April 21st and a Taurus."

"That's fucked up you know that, stalker."

"I work with YOUR MOTHER, hello! What's mine?"

"December 25th?"

"NNNNaaaa! Its April 30, and I am a Taurus, as well. Drink, Beth."

"That's creepy, kind of. Both that you got it, first off, and secondly that's we're practically twinky's on the birthday date."

"Well, that should keep it easy for Lea." Lady Di snorted.

"BTW- that's not funny...yet."

"Keep drinking. You'll discover I'm_ hilarious._"

"Indeed. Hilarious...looking. Anyhoo... Moving on. Sports. FAVORITE SPORT-to play and the colliery question, FAVORITE SPORT-to watch. Oh, fuck, Dianna. I've got no fucking idea. Just read me your answers and pour me my shot."

The Glee star did as she was asked. Pouring, she answered, "Tennis and Football. Yours?"

"Sex and American Football."

Dianna nearly dropped the bottle. "What?"

Beth shrugged, nonshalantly. Dianna snorted while they toasted before their shots.

"Beth?" Dianna was clearly weighing her next words.

"Yep?"

"So...is it true you slept with_ three hundred_ women?"

Beth thought about how she should answer that question, finally settling on a simple, "No."

Dianna's gaze bore right into Beth's skull. "Well, I'm glad for that, I guess." Dianna sighed, looking down. "Because, you know, that's bordering on a disorder. And if you don't think you can be faithful," Her hazel eyes snapped up, to meet Beth's blue one's head on.  
"then you shouldn't be with Lea. It'd kill her."

Beth spoke evenly. "Look, Dianna. This is... _uncomfortable_ for me to talk about with anyone, but especially...**_you_.**"

Dianna had a flicker of sadness pass across her face, almost wincing. "Okay...well, then...I guess, just read the next question." Dianna said, quietly.

"No, **wait.**" Beth leaned forward, grabbing the hand belonging to the woman in fromt of her. Looking at Dianna's elegant hand, in hers, Beth continued, earnestly. "It's uncomfortable, but I...I'm going_ to try._" Beth sighed.

Dianna gave her a reassuring squeeze, in response.

"It's _not _three hundred, but, it's a lot. But, I don't feel ashamed of the number, or proud of the number, really. I don't even have a good explanation for "the number," other than It was my _fucked up_ way to get over Lea. To deal with that loss of intimacy in my life, to desensitize myself to it, and to make sex, therefore the intimacy that had followed with Lea..irrelevant, to me. I had to do something. I had to to stop the long nights of missing her, and longing..." Beth was beginning to cry. "...longing..."

Dianna, sensing the other woman's breaking point, decided to lighten the mood, and broke out in song. _"..for your touch, my dear."_

Without missing a beat, Beth belted in return, _"Are you still minnnnne?"_

In a very impromptu duet, They stood up, almost courting, holding each others hands, and sang. _"I need your touch, oh, I need your touch..."_ Finishing "Unchained Melody" totally a _Capella_ and actually sounding... decent.

A smattering of applause broke out. Beth looked around. "Shit, Di, were up to six people now. that's an audience."

"And there's a stage."

"_Fuck!_ Karaoke is in our future, isn't it?"

"And Lea's not even here making us do it, to remind us her vocal prowess Is far superior to our pitiful altos!"

Beth laughed. "Disturbing!"

The Glee star nodded her head, furiously. "Okay, next ...religion."

"Di, can I make a suggestion?"

"I don't have sex on the first date, Beth." She said with mock seriousness.

Beth laughed. "I usually have sex _before_ the first date, anyway."

"Let me guess... Without an actual first date to follow."

"Precisely."

Dianna shrugged. "Saves a lot of money, I guess. "

"Back to present day, _creepy-too-interested-in-my-sex-past-lady_: No, this is my suggestion... let's just read the question and tell each other the answers we can use the honor code to determine if we would've been right or not, and drink accordingly."

"Okay, but let's read each other's answers so it's not so embarrassing."

"Wow, are you _always_ this shy?"

"Yes, I guess. When I'm not being someone else."

Beth took it in. "Hence, acting as a career."

"Yup."

"I supposed because 'recluse' was not as lucrative."

Dianna laughed. "Exactly!"

"Okay, Di..." Beth broke their hands apart to switch papers. "Religion."

"Jewish." Dianna responded automatically.

"Me too."

"Really?" Dianna said, surprised.

"Yup. And Unitarian. I'm the U.N.! Look, Puck and Rachel and of course my mom, Shelby, are Jewish. Quinn is a fallen catholic but she still goes to a Unitarian church. And my best friend Stacey was Unitarian, so, yeah."

"You have a real collection of wonderful people in your life."

"Oh, I forgot- aunt Santana is catholic, still."

"Latino."

"Precisely."

"But in her defense, her partner Britney is a Zen Buddhist"

"That's kind of cool." said Diana. "You _do know_ Lea is Catholic, right?"

"Oh, I'm well aware. Got the_ 'were going to midnight mass and that's final_' lecture. Enough about religion. No shot there. Next...moving right along. Next question, body demographics/measurements. This is a stupid iquestion I mean we both have eyeballs. I vote no shot. You go first.,. Yours?"

"I hate this part. Okay, um...my height is 5'6" and official weight is 116 Pounds. Do we really have to say _bra size?"_

"Unless you want me feeling you up to guesstimate, then yes!"

"Fine!" She huffed. "32B. Why do you even care?"

"Jesus, 32B! Who has a 32 for a chest that is about eight years old? You are a Barbie doll! And to answer your question, if you must know..I do care...I'm knitting you a corset For our Jewish Christmas exchange."

Dianna spit out her drink of water on Beth's lap, laughing hysterically.

"OMG I can see you with the knitting needles! Okay Beth, let's have it.. show nrours..."

"36C, 5'8", and 132."

"It would appear that you have a physical advantage over me." said Diana with the small tinge of the red on to her cheek.

"Oh, fuck that shit. You're gorgeous! I don't have an edge over shit!". Beth's typical inelegant reassurance for some reason made Diana feel a lot better. Beth, leaning forward, reminded Di "Hollywood to make you feel disgusting. And I hate absolutely hate that you and I are helping to perpetuate these images for girls coming up."

"I think you're a very positive role model." Diana said softly. "I mean, look at you! is there anything that you _can't_ do? You're showing women that they can be smart _and_ tough, and, _beautiful_. You are these things, all at the same time."

"Yeah? Then, the haters point out the fact that_ I'm a lesbian, _ and they'll use it to say, "See? If you're smart, you're gay... you don't want that...woman, go back to the kitchen before society collapses!"

Dianna was laughing at Beth boisterous rant. She added, "Or, worse, they think that _you want to be a man_!" Added Diana.

Beth got a funny look on her face.

"_Y'know_, Dianna, sometimes I actually_ do wish_ I was a man... I mean, I know this is totally **too** much information, but..."

Beth bit her lip, while Di looked on, flabbergasted.

Continuing, Beth sighed. "_**Fuck,**_I really would love to get a woman ..._pregnant._"

Beth rechecked the deep red flush of the woman in front of her.

"Well, shit, Dianna. I'm sorry ... clearly that was... _too much?"_

"**No**, that's not ..." Her voice trailed off. After a moment, collecting herself, Diana spoke, slowly. "it's just that..._well,_ that's my biggest _kink fantasy.._. I would just...fucking...love that!" Dianna closed her eyes, trembling with the confession. "Fucking God, I would love to feel _that_...pulse...of entering a woman. Taking her virginity. _Penetrating_ her."

Dianna's voice was almost inaudible now.

"Oh, God, would I _love_ to have a penis." She was trembling now, all over, with the weight of her confession being all out there.

Beth poured herself a shot and drank. Shrugging her shoulders, she explained, "I didn't see that coming."

Dianna poured one in Kind. "Me either."

Dianna's eyes were glazing. "I've never told anyone this...Sometimes I pretend I actually do Pack h I mean, don't get me wrong I identified as a woman..."

"I understand. _I do too._" Beth reassured.

"But...even though I love being a girl, sometimes I just wish I could know what it felt like...to enter a woman with my penis."

"You know what the shrinks would say, right?"

Dianna screwed her face up, with obvious distaste. "What?"

"Well, the psychoanalytic ones, anyway. Theyd say its cause you want power , you must have had a loss of control in your childhood, and you need to have some iota of control in your sexual relationships to be comfortable in that situation."

"I didn't have the easiest teen years, I suppose. My dad was sick...a lot was out of my control." she sighed. "What do you say, Beth?"

"I don't believe in that psychoanalytic Mumbai jumbo. I'm more concrete. I'm kind of a cognitive behavioral person. If you need to change yiu outlook, you need a practical blueprint on how to get there, not to wallow in your past. Change the way you think, and you change the way you _feel_."

"And how does that apply to our shared...hmm. Procilivilites

"I don't think there is anything wrong with it."

"Okay."

Beth hollered," Pablo, we need some water at the table here please!"

Diana relieved to be off that topic, said, "Beth, so we go on to the next one? Guilty pleasures are next! I love it! Okay, the first one is ..GUILTY PLEASURE – SONG. Mine is unquestionably 'Gettin' Jiggy Wit It' by Will Smith."

"_What_? I would not have expected that about you Dianna!"

"Well, I grew up in California you know."

"I don't know what that means." Beth replied. "Mine is "We Got The Beat", Go-Go's."

"Awfully _girly_ ...for a badass dick-wielding surgeon, Beth."

"Hey now!...I'm a girl! I _embrace_ it. Let me tell you, one of the things I'm most looking forward to about being chief resident of surgery, is that the chief gets to _pick the music_ that plays in the OR during surgery. I am going so Lilith Fair out their asses!"

"They probably won't pick a woman again for another 10 years!"

"I don't care... Do you know what shit I've had to listen to for the last 5 years? Toby Keith. AC-DC. Vomit."

"You go, girl, with your Go-Go's ass! We're almost done. What is your favorite guilty pleasure that is a food item? P.S. Beth, _pussy_ is not a food group!"

"Dianna, I'm verklempt! Besides, even if it makes me a _bad_ lesbian, I'd choose a sprinkles cupcake, more than likely, anyway..."

Diana looked shocked.

Without a word, she held up her paper that read, simply, "**cupcakes**."

They both sat there in stunned drunken silence.

Pablo came over with an entire pitcher of water to the two girls, staring at each other in disbelief. He was also laden with an assortment of foods: breads salamis cheeses and other vegetables, and the like.

"Beautiful ladies, this is on the house. I think it would not be a bad idea if you match that tequila with some food."

In sing-song unison they said, "Pablo we love you!"

He smiled. "Beautiful women, I am married. I'm a happily married man, but if I had another life to live, it would be spent with the two of you angels on my arm!"

"She's really lucky," said Diana. "Whats her name?"

_"Howard._ He is an accountant downtown."

they both laughed

"Now,_ I'm really in love with him_!" Beth hissed at Dianna.

"No shit!" They looked at their plate in wonderment.

"Hey Di, you can have the salami, I'm not much of a meat eater."

Dianna's jaw dropped.

"What? Did you know I'm a _vegitarian_?"

"What? You're a librarian? Really?"

"Oh..my god. Beth your hearing is terrible!"b In her defense, it wasn't entirely her faultPablo had turned on yet Another drinking tequllîa song, and the loud sound system was remaking havoc on Beth's hearing was pretty atrocious:

"This song cracks me up!" Beth said.

They both started singing along in unison:  
_"One Tequila, __Two Tequila, __Three Tequila, __Floor!  
__Five Tequila, __Six Tequila __Seven Tequila_..."

However on the last refrain, Beth sang "**More**!" and Dianna sang "**Morgue**!"

"What? Said Beth simultaneously with Dianna's "What did you say?

"I said, 'More', you know the word that rhymes with 'Floor', what did you say?"

"I said 'Morgue,' you know, the _actual words to the song_?"

They argued about it for a solid ten minutes, with some insults about surgeons and people from California peppered into the dialogue, until Beth applied some rationality.

"Okay, look see here. We'll look up the answer. But we need to make it interesting, 'cause I'm pretty sure I'm right."

"You're not. So name your price." Dianna said, smugly.

Beth ran possibilities through her drunken brain. "Hmmm. Okay, now that we're up to twelve people here, you have to go up on stage, and sing the entire song of "Rappers' Delight." all the way through."

Dianna snapped. "In English, French, or Hebrew, homegirl?"

"English is fine. However, you have to do it without a shirt, bra on, with the phrase, "I LOVE BETH" written on your chest in lipstick."

Dianna was speechless. "How do you think of this shit?"

"I'm a genius." Beth said, taking a swig of beer. "Actually, I am. But that has nothing to do with it. This shit comes from years of influence by Sue Sylvester and my Auntie Santana."

"Okay, and if I'm right?"

"Name it, California girl." While Dianna thought of a suitable bet spoil, Beth launched into a version of Katy Perry's "California Girls," amusing herself greatly along with the other 12 patrons of the bar.

"I know..." Dianna smiled, demurely, after a moment.

"Well, let's have it."

Dianna was silent, just looking at Beth.

Beth rolled her eyes. "Dianna, my supernatural talents are a little off from the 8 shots of tequila. You're going to have to just TELL me, because my ESP skills are for shit right now, and I can't read your mind at the moment."

Dianna snorted water out her nose.

"Attractive!" Laughed Beth.

"Okay," the shy blonde said, taking a breath. "You have to make out with me, for five minutes. If I'm right?"

"What?" Beth said.

"That's what I said. A solid, like, five minutes. No distractions."

Beth looked at her, incredidiously. "What's wrong with you, woman?"

Dianna looked embarrassed. "Is ... is that so...weird?"

"Yes! Of course it's weird!" Beth said incredulously.

Dianna looked away, the flicker of embarrassment not lost on Beth.

"I cannot make out with anyone for less than, like, 15 minutes! 5 minutes? You just figure out where to put your hands, which way your head is going, lick your lips, do the sultry eye bat, and then, you have like 15 seconds left. When was the last time YOU made out with someone?"

Dianna looked back at Beth, laughing. It was ridiculous how comfortable she felt with Beth...and it wasn't just the tequila talking. "Sultry eye bat?" Dianna clarified, giggling.

"Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. The 'trust me you want to go to my bedroom later, you lucky girl' eye bat. I'm a bit rusty, though."

"Hmm. I'm usually on to other things after 15 minutes."

Now it was Beth's turn to be quiet.

"Di...nothing more than kissing."

"No, of course not."

"I..."Beth said, looking down. "I'm in love with Lea."

Dianna let the pain wash over her. "I know that. Trust me, I know that."

"And I'm never going to cheat on her."

"I...I'm really glad to hear you say that, actually."

"You are? That's big of you. Why?"

"Because, if she's not in love with me, anymore, well..." Dianna looked away, fighting tears. "Shit. This isn't going to be the part where tequila makes you cry, is it?"

"I hope not, 'cause then your mascara will get all smudgy and shit, and you'll look terrible up on stage, rapping."

Dianna laughed. "If she isn't in love with me, Beth, I want to know its with someone who counts."

Beth cocked her head, taking in the blonde before her. "It seems like you've come a long way, Dianna."

Her drinking compaingin nodded. "It's been a long road. And a lot of therapy."

"You know, I'm sorry, for before. My comments. I shouldn't have been so...caviliar about your issues."

Dianna waved her off. "I'd rather not talk about it, I think. Not now. We're having fun."

"That's what this is? Shit, I'd forgotten."

They laughed, and drank silently for a moment. Beth reached across the table, and grabble Dianna's hand. "You know, Di, maybe someday, if you **do** want to talk about it...with someone, not a professional but also not someone you, um, behaved that way with..."

Dianna laughed.

Beth continued with a smile. "...I hope someday, _that person could be me._ Believe it or not, I am an **excellent** secret keeper."

Dianna smiled, that famous, beautiful smile of hers.

"I suspected as much, Beth. People like me...who have gone through my, um, trials of lack of a better word, get pretty good at reading people."

"Unless you declare suicidial or homicial ideations, Dianna. I want to let you know, up front, I am a mandatory reporter. Those are the two circumstances in which I can't keep your secrets."

"Okay, I'll keep those thoughts to myself." She grinned.

Beth released her hand, and took a drink. "So, we have a bet, Blondie."

"I'm not a real blonde." Dianna said, in a fake stage whisper.

"Duh."

"What, duh?"

"Hello, have you seen your eyebrows?"

"So, should I have Pablo look up the lyrics for us?"

"Um, Dianna? I feel a little weird for asking this, but could I call Lea and have her do it? I personally don't have a_ problem_ with the bet, but I want to make sure **she's** okay with it. She can look up the lyrics."

"Of course." Dianna had a strange look on her face. "Do you need to go somewhere to call...?"

"Nah. Fuck that shit. I'm very on the table." She dialed the number on her speed dial, and waited. "Hi, Babe! Oh, shit, it is? 6:15? _I'm sorry!"_ She mouthed "fuck!" to Dianna, who shook her head.

Dianna waited.

Beth sounded irritated. "_Why did you send Demi?_ We're fine!"

Pause.

"Yes. Really, really fine."

Pause.

"Well, I'm glad you're glad, cause I have to run something by you. What? No, I do not require you to get a writing implement."

Pause.

"Okay, so, do you have any problem, say for example, if I lose a bet ... if the result is that I might have to make out with Dianna?"

Longer Pause.

"I don't plan on losing."

Pause.

"You what?"

Pause. Dianna was pretty sure she was in trouble.

She was wrong.

Beth huffed. "**No,** I'm **not** going to take a picture! That's how shit ends up in National Equirer!"

Dianna chuckled.

"_**No!**_ Demi can't take a picture, either! Listen, Lea, focus. Am I to understand, you're okay with it?"

Beth was rubbing her eyes, in consternation, and missed the dramatic entrance of their friend. Demi slapped down a chair, backwards, and squatting down, looked around at their table.

"Okay, bitches, _you killed each other yet?_" Demi grinned.

"Shhh!" Dianna whispered to their newest member. "Beth is getting some very...um...detailed instructions from Lea."

"I know how that goes!"muttered Demi.

"Don't we all!" Dianna consoled.

"Shhh!" Beth scolded. Putting the phone quickly on mute, she said, "This is fucking more complicated than the laperoscopic Roux-en-Y procedure! I need to pay attention!" Demi, Fucking take a shot, just because...you're Demi." She went back to her phone conversation.

"Demi laughed. She complied, grimaced, and then whispered to Di. "What's the block of instruction on? "

"I'm not sure, bit I** think** it's on ensuring you take a picture of Beth and I making out."

Demi spit out her tequila. "What?!"

"Hey! Fucking...That's expensive shit! Keep it in your mouth!" Beth yelled. "_Yes, dear,_ I'm listening."

"Look, its a rather long story, Demi. You missed the good part."

"Apparentely!" She said, pulling out her iPhone And cleaning the lens.

"What's that for?"

"Pictures, of course!" She grinned.

Beth finally hung up, looking white as a ghost.

"Well, you were right, Di."

"She's letting you do it?"

"Yes. Furthermore, she informed me I would be doing it. It appears the word is mourge, not more. Aaargh!"

Dianna, licking her lips, grinned from ear to ear. Pablo brought over a third shot glass, which was promptly filled. "Last Question: What was the last book you read?"

They looked at each other.

"Fucking "The Justin Bieber Unauthorized Biography!" Hell, yeah!" Demi said. "_Fuck_ yeah! Biebs!"

The other two shook their heads, unsure if she was being serious or not. With Demi, who knew? Dianna, however, was being very determined, very serious, as she looked into Beth's eyes. "I know our answers are are different, but... mine was "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe."

Beth laughed. "Principals of Surgery, 10th Edition."

The two laughed, as though sharing a secret joke, and drank.

"To Friendship!" Proposed Dianna

"To Friendship!" Beth Conncurred.

"Fuck yeah!" Concluded Demi. "So, where are you two taking your...um, 'friendship' next...ladies?"

Dianna was right. They were pretty great together...at capers.

**TBC**


	25. Santana Giveth, Santana Takeith

**Story: I'm Not Your Rebound**

**Characters: **Lea/Beth; Demi/Tristan; Quinn/Rachel (Established Faberry); past Achele

**Rating: ** Ranges from PG-M. Sometimes in the same sentence!

**Disclaimers:** Don't own Glee, the Characters, the actors playing the characters, the Star Waggoner trailers, Don't own the SATs, any colleges in the east. This is purely non profit here.

**A/N:** A shout out is in order for **Aly Berry**, thanks for the Spanish Beta/authoring the damn Santana dialogue! Mucho gracias! (Hey, its good stuff that she wrote, trust me. I laughed my ass off).

Secondly, I want to say, thank you to the people who have been reviewing - I appreciate it. I am struck by the number of responses that are grateful for a speedy update. Then I thought about it. It is hard, after all, when you get invested in a story, and months go by without an update. It's hard! I respect that not everyone can be creative on demand and that for most people here, if not all, this is NOT your day job, but it does make me sad when you want to know what happens with a story, and the updates take longer than Glee's hiatus' schedule! So, I'm glad that there are a few folks who seem to be interested in this, because I DO like these characters.

And as I promised, today all would be revealed.

**Chapter: Santana Giveth, Santana Taketh Away...**

So, as it typically happens when any amount of Tequilia is involved, there are usually a few regrets, more than likely a hangover, and hopefully, you remain in the country of origin from whence you came...

But there are no guarantees.

Beth woke up, head splitting in two, groaning. She was having a very hard time orienting herself to where the fuck she was, because it was all yellow and fuzzy...

Oh, wait.

That's because someone's hair was in her face. The hair, attached to the head, attached to the body, of which the body was currently laying on top of her.

At least they weren't naked.

She moved the hair out of her eyes, and attempted to focus. It appears that Demi slept upside down in her recliner by the bedside, and was happily snoring away, in a pair of Beth's scrubs.

"What the fuck?" She groaned.

That, apparently was the battle cry of the blonde Lorax, currently nested on her chest. With a start, it sat up.

"Holy fuck, where am I?"

"Dianna?"

"Beth?" The blonde Lorax inquired, back.

Realizing what was actually going on, a half naked ex-girlfriend of Rachel's was laying on her, the young physician awakened..._stat._ "**_Dianna_**!"

_**"Beth!**_" Dianna moved to cover herself up with the sheets. "I...um. I don't remember a whole lot, after the salami..."

"Jesus, that shit of Santana's is like a mind eraser!"

"You don't think she actually put something in it, do you?"

Beth grimaced. "I wouldn't put it past her."

A loud groan came from the depths of the bowels of the recliner. "Oh. .God. Would you two _shut the fuck up?_ It's like rivets in my head when you talk!" Demi groaned.

"There's a joke in there somewhere, but I'm to hung over to execute it." Beth lamented.

She stood up, wobbled, was steadied by Dianna, whose arms felt awfully familiar to her, and headed to the kitchen to bring back provisions. She brought in water, crackers, vitamins, zofaran anti nausea medicine, and an 3 IV sets.

"What the **_fuck_** is THAT?" Demi said, pointing to the first aid kit.

"Shut up and take this. Your head will stop spinning. You too, Princess Di." Beth said, while multi-tasking Purell-ing her hands and gloving up, heading towards Demi, _first._

"Oh, _no fucking way! _I pass out at the sight of blood...especially my own!"

"Fine. Wallow in your misery. We have our call time in forty minutes, Lovato."

She groaned.

"Beth," Dianna said softly. Beth turned in the direction of her lilting voice. With a gentle smile, she said, "I'll go first, so Demi can see it's okay." Sticking her left arm out, she said, "Bring it on, Dr. Beth. I'm ready. Come do me, now."

"_That's what you said last night,_ too!" Sniggered Demi, before wincing with pain from her hangover.

Beth was in_ full on_ Doctor mode. She was very different. No humor, whatsoever. She explained everything to Dianna before she did it, and amazingly, it didn't even hurt. It's almost like she wasn't the person they knew.

"Wow, you're...you're really good at that." Dianna marveled, looking at the small IV hub in her arm, that Beth was hooking up to a liter of normal saline.

"ALSO, what you said last night." Demi chortled. "Arrrgh! My fucking head! Okay, Corcoran, fine. Do your doctor shit!"

In ten minutes, she had all three of them hooked up, and they sat there watching the Today show together. Periodically, Dianna would sneak a peek at Beth, who was busy checking the IV poles and mumbling to herself.

"I can't believe you started your **own** IV..._on yourself,_ Beth." She said, in wonderment.

Demi rolled her eyes. "Fuck, you're_ not_ going to be in love with HER, now, are you?" Di just swatted Demi with a rolled up magazine in response. They were mostly quiet until Di's IV pump was the first to beep. "You're done, Di. Let me pull that out of you." They exchanged a furtive glance at each other, both recalling their g!p conversation from the night prior, and both looked away.

"Just..._don't get me pregnant._" Dianna whispered, teasing. Beth blushed.

"Still hearing that shit!" Demi informed them.

Rubbing the blonde's arm, in what could almost be considered affectionate, Beth asked her, "feeling better?"

"**_Much_**. That's fucking incredible!"

"It's the detox recipe from the medical/surgical ICU. Cool, huh? Intern year, you put in 10,000 of these into people on Friday and Saturday if you were working the third shift."

"And you transported them across state lines, as though you knew. You're such a maverick! Hey, how come they didn't stop you at the airport?"

"They same reason they didn't stop Lady Di, transporting $2,500 worth of undeclared Tequilia from Mexico, that is probably a government experiment that fell into the wrong hands...Santana's."

"Hey, Leave my Sanny alone." Demi pouted.

"_Your Sanny_?" The two blondes said, in unison.

"Well, yeah. Like, my big sister, or something... I think she adopted me. So, yeah. My Sanny. Or something." Demi said, shrugging.

"I wouldn't call it an adoption, Demi. I would call it a hostile takeover." Beth said, matter of factly.

Dianna giggled.

"She means well." Demi said, defensively.

"Yes, she always does." Beth sighed. "You forget, Demi, I've known her a lot longer than you. Remember, she deployed Dianna here, to hunt and destroy."

Dianna looked uncomfortable, and changed the subject, obviously. "So...Demi? Do I need to be worried about pictures on TMZ?"

Beth shook her head. "You are so fucking worried all the time about TMZ. TMZ this, TMZ that...TMZ caught me, changing a tampon, blah blah blah...fuck TMZ!"

Demi said, "Yeah...there might be. TMZ might have something."

They both turned on her. "YOU?"

"I fucking resent that! It is not fun trying to wrangle the two of your drunk asses from point A to point B making out and shit all over the place! But I did it, like a good doobie. And I get NO credit! So, NO, not **moi.** I'm one of the good guys, remember? No, I would look to all the other of thousands of people who have, you know, _phones_."

Dianna groaned. "Should we...dare we, you know, pursue the internet?"

"Do you really want to?"

"The enemy known is the better than the enemy not known."

"Shit, _that's deep_." Demi nodded.

Beth sighed. "Is it going to be bad?"

"Well, let me _put it to you like this_..." Demi held up her smartphone.

Beth and Di swiped through together, and their mouths dropping further and further to the floor with each successive swipe. The pictures told the tale. Each picture, kissing, arms around each other, laughing, posing, kissing Pablo on each cheek; they looked like they were having fun...while they might not have looked like _a couple, _they definitely looked familiar. Intimate. In fact._..They were all over each other._

"Um..." Beth mumbled.

Dianna sighed, and closed her eyes. "These could be really...hurtful." Tears were starting to well in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Beth. I'm sorry for participating in this." She sounded completely sincere.

Beth's head snapped to Dianna. "Th-Thank you," she stammered. She gave a wan smile, and then moved to put her arms around the Glee blonde, hugging her, tightly. "I love the fact, Dianna, that your first thought was about someone else, and not about yourself."

"I know you love her, and I..I still love her, Beth. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. She's hard to get over." They broke apart. "I can honestly say, I stuck to the parameters dictated to me by Madame Lea. I did...I'm almost positive. However, its one thing to agree to certain boundaries, it's another thing to have your face smashed in it, you know?"

"Like a pile of poop." Demi nodded.

"Not helping, D." Beth said.

"I'm just saying..."

"Do...do you regret it, Beth? Last night?"

Beth exhaled a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Yes, and no. But...I can honestly say, we have it worked out, between us, Dianna. You're like, my les-bro, now."

"Oh, thank God. I couldn't stand it if you resented me...or distanced yourself from me, because of this stupid drunken..."

"Hey! No regrets. Okay?"

"Okay." Dianna nodded.

They hugged for a moment. Demi was looking at them with a cocked head.

"_What_?" Beth said, pulling away from Lady Di.

"If I squint," Demi said, "you guys look like sisters._ Twin_ sisters."

Dianna smiled. "I don't think sisters do this." She said, holding up the picture with her kissing Beth, tongue in her mouth.

Demi shrugged. "Some places, they might."

They threw pillows at the laughing singer.

Beth jolted up, suddenly business-like. "Okay, let's take showers, get ready, eat...and then _we'll look at the damage and call Lea_." Beth put her hand out.

Dianna looked confused until Demi put her hand on top of Beth's. She followed suit, still confused, until Demi whispered, _"She made us do this every fucking night before "Shell." You just can't take the cheerleader out of the surgeon, sometimes. Just pretend you enjoy this."_

"_Ready_? **Break**!" Beth said, ignoring the commentary.

"You..._are just such a **dork**_, Beth" Dianna said, fondly.

"You've said that before." Beth grinned, heading for the first shower.

**XOXOXOXOX**

They hit search.

_Nothing._

"**What?**" Demi said, in disbelief.

They were all hunkered around the computer screen, and Beth kept typing. There were a few blogs that mentioned them being seen out, and looking "chummy," and of course, pictures of the three of them out and about, but nothing that was anything more than PG-rated, at most. They looked like they were at a sorority mixer. There were no pictures, _none_, of the two of them making out. Or hugging. Or holding hands.

Not one inappropriate picture. _Anywhere._

"I don't get it. There were a dozen people, at the bar for sure, that took pictures..." Demi said.

"Outside of the bar?" Dianna asked.

"A few, but those are the pictures of the three of us, we took a cab home...which, btw, _we need to go get my car._"

"_Shit_, let's go!" Dianna said, grabbing her keys off the counter. "Then, we have to seriously get to work."

Beth was silent, thinking, the entire time. _This didn't make sense_. _ At all. _The "problem solver" part of her that made her a great surgeon liked things simple._ See_ problem, _fix_ problem. This, however, made _no sense_ whatsoever.

And _that_ made her uncomfortable.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

Beth was silent for the entire drive to the bar to retrieve Demi's car.

It was bothering her, the lack of plausible explanations for the lack of gossip; Demi and Diana, however, continued to make small talk in the front of the car.

"Hey, Doctor." Dianna said, gently, turning to look at Beth. "Quit your brooding back there. I'll give you a penny for your thoughts?" Dianna smiled.

"Ehhh. They're not worth a penny, just yet. When they appreciate in value I'll let you know." She continued to sit in the back, continuing to brood, the scientist's mind of hers trying to make sense of this bizarre turn of events. She silently stared out the window.

"She's_ fun_, when she gets like this." Demi said sarcastically, shaking a finger at Beth. "But then, she'll burst out of her thinking stupor, and declare the cure for cancer or some shit. So I feel bad resenting it."

Dianna smiled, politely. Truthfully, she herself was lost in thought. She felt herself staring out the window, with some unexpected remembrance from the night before, all triggered from the photo display on Demi's phone they had just perused. It was coming back to her now, in vivid detail...of what she had Beth had shared, last night.

Not unexpectedly, she was having a hard time shaking it off.

Dianna smiled, touching her fingers to her lips, where Beth had kissed her. If Demi noticed how strangely quiet Dianna was being, suddenly, she didn't let on. Instead, she turned on the radio and started signing along.

Dianna remembered, now...

It had started in the bathroom, as many drunken encounters will; however, this particular bathroom was remarkably clean, fortunately. Granted, it was likely because it was never used, as there _were no female patrons_ at the O.K. Cantina. Hardly ever.

In this moment, however, bathroom hygiene was not on anyone's mind. Not on Dianna's, while Beth had her pressed up against the wall, looking down at her, hungrily, like she was a juicy prime rib; and not on Beth's, while she saw Dianna's nipples harden, already, underneath her tight sweater. Beth's arms flanked Di on either side, with hands on the wall; she had effectively _caged her in._

Normally, with Di's prolicivilties and past sexual preferences, she never would have gone for being constrained like that.

_Normally._

At least they had the luxury of the small cramped room to themselves, and Dianna had locked the door to make sure this would continue. Bursting into laughter, Dianna said, "I have _fully_ embraced my character on the show! All her _memorable moments_ are in the bathroom, as well." Dianna looked at the surgeon, and she licked her lips, in anticipation. Beth returned the drunken gaze of the woman she was corralling, and said, "So, you think this is going to be a _memorable moment, _do you?"

"I would hope so, having had the experience of 300 women behind you... I would hope it's memorable!"

"Damn, woman, we done talked about this, now! It WAS NOT 300 women!" She grimaced a bit. "Second off, Blondie, I have to ask you something."

"Ask now or forever hold your peace." She said, simply. However it's casual nature of her voice did nothing to accurately portray what lies underneath. Diana smiled her mysterious smile, that belied so many thoughts that were running underneath the surface that were running loose. Things she wanted to do in this tiny window of opportunity...

"Okay, Lady Di. Why did you choose _this_ for your bet victory spoils? I mean, you knew you were going to win, you could have had anything..."

"Beth, if I tell you, I think you're going to think _I'm crazy."_

"I already think you're crazy, so you might as well tell me." Beth chortled.

Diana pressed closer, into Beth. Their lips were getting dangerously proximal to one another's. "Do you ever sometimes know, just know, something about a person within the first few moments of meeting them?" Diana inquired.

"Absolutely! First impressions are critical , especially in medicine. I think its called 'diagnostic intuition' or some shit."

"Well, I had one of those moments, with you, Beth." back Diana said softly. I felt like, well... like _I felt that I was meeting somebody very important_ to me. Someone that would become _very important_ in my life." Dianna was blushing, furiously. "It sounds crazy, because I absolutely wanted to hate you! I wanted to hate you with _every fiber_ of my body!"

Beth nuzzled her neck, just slightly, until she could hear her sigh. "..and you couldn't?"

"No, I couldn't." She put her arms around Beth's neck, pulling her closer.

"Dianna..." She went to cut her off, wanting so badly to kiss those elegant lips, to suck them, to lick her...but she was cut off at the pass.

"Beth, let me finish! When I met you, I felt like I met my other half. I know what we're going to be to each other, you know."

Beth shut her eyes, and refocused. "I know, Di." She said with a sigh. "I felt it, too. I feel it, still."

Dianna's hands were moving, now. Touching Beth...everywhere. "But, before we become **that,** to each other...I just wanted to know. I wanted to know what it felt like, to kiss you. To French your mouth. To taste you. To hold you. I had to know. "

Beth nodded. "Because, later, it would be..._weird_."

"_Very_ weird." Dianna said, softly, as she tilted her chin up, exhaling slowly.

Beth looked down at Dianna. "You're so beautiful, Dianna. So impossibly...beautiful."

"Thank you. But I have to ask...Is it narcissistic that this is like looking in a mirror?"

Beth smiled. She said nothing in response, merely leaned down, and placed her lips on the eager ones awaiting hers. Pressing her lips, softly at first, it was...

**Weird.**

Weird, but _amazing. _They pulled apart.

"Does this seem...strange?" Beth asked.

"Yes! It totally does! Why is that, damn it?"

"I don't know, I guess because we're kinda like..._sisters_, I guess." Dianna reasoned.

"_Fuck_ that." Beth said. "Not tonight, we aren't." She pressed her body against Dianna's; she could feel everything. She could feel Beth's errect nipples straining against her shirt, pressing into her; she could feel the tone of her muscles; mostly, she could feel her lips, kissing her with an inch of her life. The were everywhere. They were on her throat, her ear, neck, mouth...then she felt her tongue demanding entrance to hers, which she granted.

A zing! of electricity shot straight between Di's legs as Beth penetrated her mouth, and she met her in kind. They wrestled for dominance, until Beth's concentration was broken by Dianna's hands that had slid to the top of her shirt, over her breasts, and were squeezing.

"_Harder_." Beth gasped.

Dianna, completely aroused, adjusted their positions in order to slide her leg between Beth's, and press her thigh against her center.

"**_Uhhnnn._**.." Beth gasped, eyes rolling to the back of her head.

Dianna, on fire, was gripping the back of Beth's head by her hair, using her leverage, pulled her face harder, against her own. Di's lips were hungry, aching; she pressed hard against Beth's mouth, wanting to _taste_ her, to kiss her...

Just **wanting** her.

"You feel _amazing_, Beth." Dianna panted.

"You feel so...familiar. God damn, I _want_ you. So much."

"_So fucking much_." Dianna concurred, as she pressed her mouth to Beth's neck, sucking the skin beneath.

Beth ran her hands down trying to feel every bit of the gorgeous blond, just to the waistline. She had promised Lea, "no hands below the waistline." She never expected that to be an issue. Really. Yet here she was, wishing she could grab Dianna's perfect little ass and grip it, firmly, to press the lithe blonde against her center, harder.

Still, she did the best she could...she grabbed the edges of Dianna's jeans, and pulled her as hard as she could, smashing them together. Diannna was rocking against Beth's thigh. Beth was kissing her, hard. She flicked her probing mouth against Di's bottom lip, as they both panted into each other. She then nipped her bottom lip, and watched Dianna's hazel eyes go black.

Beth's hands were trailing down the younger woman's body, down,down...until they rested on top of those 32B's...she began stroking Dianna, hard, over the top of her cashmere sweater.

"_Fuck_!" Dianna groaned.

She ground down, with her leg. She was now riding Beth, and furthermore, she didn't care who walked in on them. Beth's motion met her rocking in perfectly synced choreography; its as though they knew each other, as the same person.

And Beth knew, right now, Dianna would want her to pinch her nipples. Hard.

"Oh, fuck! _Fuck!_ **Fuck** me..." She said, incoherently. Dianna was startled, as she felt her center tightening in that familiar coil, and her heat rising. She couldn't believe it! She was close, so painfully close to orgasm.

"C'mon," whispered Beth. "Do it. Come for me, Di. Come ON me." She pressed her body into the trembling blonde, harder still. Dianna made a final gasp, moaning; she collapsed into Beth's arms, as Beth's timer went off.

The spent blonde, face buried in Beth's neck, made a muffled giggle. She hugged Beth, as she said, "tell me you did NOT actually set a timer."

"Of course I did!" Beth hugged her back.

As they pulled away, Dianna was smiling. "Beth, I...I'm going to say...I," she buried her head again. Muffled she continued, "That's the first time I ever came, without ...being in control of the situation."

"How do you feel about that?" Beth asked, gently.

Dianna lifted her head, to assess Beth's expression, to ensure she wasn't getting all "doctor-y" on her. Satisified with the truly sincere and concerned look on her face, she said honestly, "I don't know. It's ... it's a start, I guess."

Beth cupped her face with both of her hands and smiled broadly. "Listen, Di, it's okay if a dom/sub relationship is what turns you on. That's okay. What's not okay is if you or your partner isn't okay with it. But I'm sensing, maybe a little, that's not what you're truly comfortable with..."

"I know. I think...you might be right."

"But if its just about needing to feel in control of the situation, to feel safe..."

Dianna winced at the words. Beth gripped her face, smiling, willing the blonde to look at her. When she did, Beth smiled, and kissed her gently on the lips. Just a peck.

"Di, that's an issue of trust, not control. You need trust."

Dianna sighed. "I know." She nodded, saying very matter of factly, "I guess... I must trust you."

"Nuts, huh?"

"No," she replied, leading her forehead in to connect with Beth's. "Not nuts."

No clothes came off. They did not have sex, technically. However, in that moment, Dianna was convinced that this might be the most intimate she would ever be with another person.

"Beth, thank you."

"My pleasure. Really!" She chuckled.

Just then, barreling through the door, came their other friend. "Aw, shit! Did I miss it?"

"How did you get through that door? I locked it!" Dianna said.

Demi grinned, micheviously. "That little thing?" She held up a bent hairpin. "I told you, being friends with Sanny has its benefits!"

Beth shook her head.

Demi lined up her iPhone. "Hey, do you think you could re-create it? I promised Lea a picture!"

The two blondes looked at each other and smiled. Leaning in, Dianna whispered, "maybe not ...everything."

"Check." Beth said, as she put her mouth back on Dianna's.

"Fucking creepy! You two look like sisters making out!" Demi said, as she happily snapped away.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOX**

Demi's car was still there, intact, with all hub caps present.

"We really should go in and see if Pablo is here, and offer to buy him some damn lunch."Beth said, firmly.

"Dr. B... I love me some Pablo just as much as the rest of you, but our call time is like in 20 minutes!" Demi said.

"I understand. But my Spidey Senses are _tingling_...I think we need to go in, and say hi. _Trust me._"

"Oh, okay, Beth." Dianna grinned, putting her arm around the taller blonde. "Let's see **El Pablo."**

Dianna kept her arm draped around her, smiling, as hey entered their past scene of the crime. They were going to ask for Pablo, but they saw him, immediately, at the bar. He was speaking very animatedly to some woman, who's back was towards them. She looked official.

"Shit, she looks like INS," Demi whispered. "Maybe now is not so hot.." Demi's voice trailed off, as the sleek woman in the business suit turned around. It was then that hey saw who it was, and they all made a collective gasp.

"Santana Lopez!" They said, in unison.

she narrowed her eyes, immediately focusing on Dianna's arm around Beth. Marching over to them, she slapped Dianna's hand off of Beth.

"Get your fucking hands off of her!"

Dianna was furious. Looking Santana directly in the eye, she said, "excuse me? Who do you think you are? And might I remind you, it appears I'm here, because you put me here."

Wrong thing to say to Santana Lopez.

She grabbed Di by the lapels of her shirt, and slammed her against the wall behind. Her face _blood_ _red, _She spit out the following without taking a breath:

**_"¡Maldita estúpida puta rompehogares! Sé que fui yo la que te trajo a esto, pero también como así de fácil te traje, te saco, ¡y ya! No tienes ni la menor puta idea del daño que le has causado... a todos ¡por la puta! Me cercioraré, como que me llamo Santana Lopez, que te haré conocer a nuestro creador, perra."_**

Beth knew a little Spanish, not enough to follow the barrage. Demi, however, did, and she was _wincing._ Beth took a breath, said a "Hail Mary" and wedged between her Godmother and her...friend.

"Auntie San, please! _Don't._ "

"**Don't?** Don't _what_? Don't sit here, and watch this bottle blonde poison the one person, destroy the_ one relationship_, in your life, that has made you human again? Fuck no, I'm not standing for that!" She made to lunge at Dianna and she flinched.

Fortunately, the rabid trajectory of Attorney Lopez was diverted by Beth and Pablo.

"Sannibel! _Stop._" He said, firmly.

"She's the devil."

"She is NOT the devil. I watched them all night. They had 15 minutes, more or less, of inappropriateness, and Beth was on the phone with her girlfriend, all night. It sounded to me like Lea gave her blessing. I have told you this, a hundred times, cousin."

**_"Cousin?"_** All three girls said, in almost comic timing.

"Sannibel is indeed my cousin. I recognized you," he said, pointing at Beth, "from the pictures she shows me and emails. She adores you."

Dianna was rubbing her neck, now that she was out of the choke hold by the insane Latino.

"His man-love does my taxes." Santana said, still pissed. "But I certain ally didn't expect to get a call from him at 10 pm East Coast time about _my godchild_ making a spectacle out of herself with her tounge down some biyatch's throat! In sight of God and everybody, no less. With cameras, s_tupido!_" This time, she wacked Beth across the back of the head.

"Ow!" Beth protested.

"Hey..._Lea told us to take pictures,_ Sanny," Demi interjected. "She was thoroughly appraised of the events of the evening."

"Okay, fine, great. You're all a bunch of polyamourous freaks. However, do you think America wants to see that shit? **NO!**" She huffed. "Jesus, Beth, do you know what we had to do, to get all the pictures erased?"

"You didn't get _all_ of them!" Demi said proudly, holding up her phone.

"Shit!" Santana said. "I can't unsee that shit! Gimme that." She took Demi's phone. "I love you kid, but...sorry." She dropped it into the bucket of soapy water currently being used to mop the floor.

" .Fuck!" Demi screeched.

"Don't bother, señorita. Its got solvent in it. Best to let Sannibel just buy you a new one." Pablo said, patting her.

Dianna spoke tentatively, careful not to induce another chocking. "I_ don't get it._..it seems like you pushed us together, uh, Ms. Lopez. I mean, what was with the bottle of _Barrique de Ponciano Porfidio Tequila? _"

Beth, nervously, was thinking about how to change the subject, before they went into all those details. _Details that she had fabricated. _"I don't think we really want to know about the depths of Santana's psychotic reasonings, do we? Let's just..._forget about this_." Beth said, quickly.

There is no "forgetting" with Santana Lopez. "_What the** fuck** are you talking about,_ Porfidio Tequilia, fake blondie?"

"The bottle that you gave Beth and Di!" Demi said.

"What?" Santana said, genuinely confused, turning to face her little disciple.

"Yeah, isn't that why you're here?" Dianna asked, timidly, afraid of being chocked again. "I mean, to make sure we made good on the bet, and all?"

Beth's mind finally clicked on what was bothering her the entire time.

"OAK!"

"What?"

"_Oak!_ **OAK**, Goddamnit! Auntie San is allergic to **Oak!**" She smiled, having figured it out. Pablo nodded his head, in comprehension, the only one who got the connection. "_Good catch_, little one!" He said to Beth.

"_But if not her,_ then _who_?" Beth said, to Pablo. It was as though they were speaking a secret language. He shrugged.

"I don't know, could be anyone. Got any enemies? Any jilted lovers?"

Dianna and Demi snorted at exactly the same time.

"_Hello, East Coast_!" Demi said, slapping Beth on the back.

"Excuse the fucking hell to me, but_ what the fuck_? Who gives a shit if I'm allergic to Oak, or if I like an extra milk with my lunch? I mean, _what the fuck_ does that have to do with the bleach in the blonde? No offense." She said, looking at Dianna.

"Oh, none taken. _Really._" She said, sarcastically. Beth patted Di on the back. "There you go!"

"Hello, _still waiting._" Santana demanded.

Pablo explained. "Sannibel...that is a very high quality tequila. It is Gold Agave, meaning, it is aged and aged and aged. "

"So? Everyone knows I don't like tequila!" Santana said, impatiently.

"Apparently, not everyone." Beth finished. "Someone made the logical conclusion you must drink it, because...well, you know why. What they **didn't know** is you would likely have an anaphylaxis attack if you had that bottle. It was stored for YEARS in _Oak Barrels!"_

"Woah. This is like CSI." Dianna marveled.

"Are you sure, Sanny?" Demi said, screwing up her face. "I mean, you were really mad at Beth for that whole prank, and wanted to bring down the house of Fabray, when I talked to you..." She turned to Beth. "Which I was totally against, 100%, even though I was pissed at you , so much!"

"I believe you." Beth said, simply.

"Actually," Santana said, turning _almost_ a light shade of red, "Rachel found me not too long after my rant, and talked me off the ledge. She was still in New York for her show."

"Wow, she must be a snake-charmer, this Rachel!" Pablo said, in wonderment. "_How did she do it?"_ He was remembering Santana's visits, in their teenage years, where inevitably something would get burned down by her in a fit of rage.

"I'd..._I'd rather not say._"

"SANTANA!" All the girls protested.

Grudgingly, she gave in. "She handcuffed me to her couch..._literally handcuffed me_, and forced me to watch "Funny Girl" until I calmed down. _Then_, she reminded me of all the _stupid shit_ I did to Quinn in high school, too. It...worked. I calmed down. Sort of."

Beth shook her head, always perpetually amazed by her step-mother. "But, God, San...it looked just like your handwriting! It had to be someone that knows you well!"

Santana snorted. "_No one_ knows me well." To which four sets of rolling eyes mocked her.

"For reals, Sanny, if not you, then who?" Demi said, thinking.

"I don't see why your making this so hard on yourself. All of the bottles of that limited edition tequila are registered. Just figure out who bought the bottle!"

"Excellent, Pablo! The tequila is the answer!" Santana grinned. She went off with Pablo to make some official calls, with Demi following behind, in her full on love-sick puppy mode.

Dianna and Beth stayed behind. Dianna leaned forward, and whispered to Beth,

"Sometimes, tequila IS the answer."

They gave each other a fist bump, and grinned.

**TBC- Who Sent The Bottle?**


End file.
